Dark Appetite
by Melda Burke
Summary: Walter's betrayal has left a wound on the minds of everyone. Then, a remarkable opportunity for a cure to the butler's brainwashing appears in the form of a Freak vampire whose chip was damaged. The damaged chip allows the Freak control over the primal vampiric urges and gives the team new hope and an idea how to destroy it.
1. Chapter 1

AN: I own nothing and will NEVER, I promise, make any money off of writing this. All of the characters belong to their respective owners.

The rushing hiss of the water was ominous. It promised a cool and refreshing death with a simple wave of fine mist that clung to the skin and hair. The droplets reflected what little light was to be found there so that even the ugliest thing would have seemed magically lovely. A billion liquid stars spread over the body of the universe.

Alucard smirked to himself. Somewhere in this comforting blanket of darkness was a cowering monstrosity. How dare a squirming worm like this Freak attempt to take shelter in this wonderful world of perpetual darkness? She sullied it with her disgusting presence.

He caught a whiff of her scent and followed it swiftly down to a deadend.

She was huddled in a ball, her red eyes were scarlet disks in the darkness. "Well, get on with it. Kill me." She said to him, her voice lacked any emotion. "I know who you are. The people that made me told me about you, Mr. Trump card."

Her mind was very easy to read, almost pathetic, really. Did she have no mental abilities at all?

"Those ghouls outside aren't yours." He stated with a chuckle. "That's certainly interesting."

She shrugged. "Those things are creepy as fuck. Besides, why would I want a braindead army? I want you to kill me. Please get it over with. I won't try to get away or anything, I promise." She turned to face him head-on. "I'd much rather be dead than go on like this."

He chuckled. "Technically, you are dead."

She narrowed her eyes at him and stood up. "Stupid smartass vampire...so are you going to kill me or what?"

"You sound eager." He said, this Freak's suicidal attitude amused him. He'd never met one with a deathwish before. "What's the rush towards an inevitble end? Put up a fight!"

"Nope." She crossed her arms stubbornly. "You can't make me. I didn't ask for whatever those guys did to me to make me like this. I just want to die peacefully knowing I haven't hurt anyone. Maybe God will-"

He scoffed. "Keep talking about God and you'll get your wish." He stared hard at her. "You're telling the truth. How strange. The chip hasn't made you bloodthirsty, psychologically, anyway. It makes the Freaks go raving mad with power and Thirst. You seem sane enough, except for your lack of self-preservation."

"Oh, believe me, I don't want to die anymore than I did when I was human. However, it's merely the right thing to do in this situation." She replied with conviction. "So, if you would be ever so kind as to splatter my brains all over this cave wall, I would be eternally gratefull, thank you."

He couldn't help it, the laughter simply burst from him in manical torrents until bloody tears trickled out of the corners of his eyes. He decided he would simply have to present this strange case to his Master. How amusing it would be to see her reaction to a Freak with control over its bloodlust. "I'm afraid I can't oblige your request."

"What? Hey, what do you think you're doing asshole? Kill me, damn it! Rip me to pieces!" She was hefted over his shoulder and the unnamed Freak might as well have been fighting against adamantium. He rolled his eyes. Well, she certainly didn't have any sort of remarkable strength even by a Freak's low standards. She was practically human.

After a little while, she gave up and turned to muttering and grumbling. She perked up when she saw the number of Hellsing vehicles that surrounded the laboratory where she was made just a few hundred yards from the cave. "Firing squad?" She asked hopefully as Hellsing soldiers approached. "That would be pretty quick. I like that idea. Do that."

"I never believed suicide could be charming, but it looks good on you." He deadpanned.

"You're absolutely morbid." She growled back at him.

"How hypocritical." He returned. He unceremoniously dropped the Freak onto the ground hard. She glared up at him. He ignored her and bowed low as his Master approached.

A faint curl of smoke trailed up from the butt of the cigar that was held gracefully between her gloved fingers. "What took you so long, Servant." She demanded sharply. Her eyes darted to the Freak and back to Alucard. "What is the meaning of this?" She was absolutely livid with rage. "I specifically ordered you to leave nothing alive!"

"Master, there is something odd about this Freak. " Alucard hauled her to her feet, his hand tightened like a vice around her upper arm. "Her control over her bloodlust leads me to suspect that the chip that was implanted in her brain is in some way defective or held in check. I believe that if we figure out what is unique about this one, then perhaps we could find a way to isolate it and perhaps such research could even be used to destroy the chips."

"Are you suggesting that I harbor a parasite for the sake of a traitor?" She snapped. Walter's betrayal was obviously still a very sore point with her, he noted. While he truly did not care one way or the other, he had a feeling that this was something she might be interested in attempting. If, of course, he could get her past the anger stage of grief.

"Walter was brainwashed, my Master. The chip had no small part in it, as you are well aware."

She frowned hard. "Would it bring him back? Is it worth it?" He heard her teeth grinding against each other. It was entirely her decision to make. Either way, he didn't care. Sir Integra adjusted her glasses with her free hand. "Fine, I give you permission to commence with research."

"What is your name, Freak?"

"I don't know." She said in an empty, confused way. "I can't remember anything from before I was made. The doctors called me X13."

"That must have been shorthand for experiment number thirteen." Observed Sir Integra. "Your name from now on is Lucky."

Lucky blanched while Alucard snickered. "Is that supposed to be some kind of joke? Come on! Besides, Lucky is what you call a one-eared mongrel you find on the street."

"You might as well be a beat-up mutt for all I care, parasite. You should get used to it." She glowered at Lucky. "Consider yourself as property of the Hellsing Organization. Be satisfied with even having a name at all." Having said that, she dismissed Alucard with a wave of her hand and took her leave to go to the temporary military tent where she would discus the things they had discovered inside the base with her chief of command.

"Why couldn't you have just killed me back there and saved me this humiliation?" Lucky complained loudly to Alucard. "All I wanted was to take a dirt nap or sleep with the fishes. Was that too much to ask?"

"Shut up, pet."

~_H_E_L_L_S_I_N_G~

Lucky was unsuccessful in her attempt to hide her awe upon their arrival at Hellsing Manor. She snuck peaks at the sprawling grounds as they were allowed entrance through the main gates. She stared at the old stone walls and appreciated the expert craftmanship that went into building such a beautiful and formidable estate. An ominous air hung over the mansion that enhanced the mystery bestowed by its dark beauty. The sun was rising, but she was forcing her eyes to stay open, not only because she didn't trust her new captors, but also because she was afraid that this would be the last she saw of the outside world for a very long time. She savored these last few minutes despite the burning and tingling that the faint sunrise was causing. Her eyes would feel dry and itchy omorrow night, but it was a small price to pay.

Once inside, she was hustled quickly into an elevator with Alucard and a small young vampire who introduced herself as Seras Victoria. Seras was friendly to her, even though Lucky couldn't bring herself to trust that the good treatment would last. She knew that Seras was much more powerful than she appeared and was certainly almost, if not an equal, threat as Alucard was. "This was short notice, so you will have to sleep in Seras's old coffin in the broom closet."

"I'm not complaining. I used to sleep in an old storage crate." She replied as she hopped into the satin-lined casket. She smiled contentedly as she pulled the top down. In the comforting darkness, she nestled herself into the pillow and soon fell fast asleep.

"Master, do you think that it truly was a good idea to bring back a Freak?" Seras asked as they left Lucky to her slumber.

"I do, Seras. Walter's betrayal has cut my Master's heart very deeply and I feel that she needs both answers and closure."

"Where...where is he?" She asked timidly.

"In my former prison. My coffin has been consquently moved to your room, Seras." What he said made sense. After all, his dungeon was the most secure place in the entire mansion, besides Sir Integra's office and bedroom. "He does nothing. He simply lays there with his hands and feet shackled. He does not even attempt to eat, blood or otherwise. He merely sips cold water and stares at the cieling. Pathetic, really."

"Can you hear what he's thinking?"

"I do not even care to try." He answered darkly. "I won't deny that I feel a certain urge now and then to do it, but I resist because I desire to shred his mind like cheap fabric as pentinence for the trouble he's caused."

"At least you managed to convince Father Anderson not to use Helena's Nail by teaming up with him against Walter to bring him down." Anderson had been about to use the Nail to bring about Alucard's death, but Walter's appearance had distracted them both and united them against a common foe. Afterwards, Seras had done her best to keep the pair from duking it out in a battle royale by reminding the paladin of his duties to the children of the orphanage. Father Anderson had smiled, strangely enough, and nodded, before vowing to return to fight Alucard another day. Oh, and to take out Seras, too. He mentioned her as if she were an afterthought, then disappeared in a whirlwind of Bible pages.

"Hm, yes. Indeed." He chuckled. "What a preposterous thing he is. I've never met a more interesting human."

"Hey!" Seras grumbled. "Does that mean I wasn't interesting at all?"

"No, you were, and still are, quite boring." He teased, rolling his eyes. "Now get some sleep. We have a long night ahead of us tomorrow."

"Yes, sir." She glared half-heartedly at him before retiring to her four-poster coffin. His own coffin took up half the room while hers was squished into a corner. Before she fell into a deep sleep, she decided that she would help the new and odd addition to the household feel welcome.

The next night, Seras rose a little earlier than she was used to. Alucard was not even up yet. She wanted to do this without her Master hanging over her shoulder and judging her. Seras retrieved her breakfast, plus an extra two bloodbags. "I wonder if the reason this Freak is unwilling to drink is that she doesn't know we can feed without hurting or killing humans?" She mumbled to herself. She knocked hesitantly on the broom closet door. "Hello? May I come in, please?"

"Sure." Lucky peered at her after opening her coffin lid a smidge. "What do you want?"

Seras wiggled the bloodbags in front of her. "Erm...breakfast?"

"Excuse me?" Lucky examined the bags, opening the coffin lid a bit more in order to see them better. "You mean we can drink that? Are you sure?"

"Yeah, of course. It doesn't taste as good as it would fresh, but it keeps us from starving. Did you not know that?"

Lucky pinched the top off of one of the bags and sniffed it. "No. The people who did this to me tried to make me feed on living victims that they locked inside my cage. It was maddening, but it didn't seem right to take a life, you understand. They told me I would starve if I didn't kill. I opted to die of thirst or suicide if I could help it before I hurt anyone. I think they wanted me to turn out to be a monster or something and when I didn't, they got really pissed." She took the time to gulp down a few mouthfuls of blood before continuing. "Beatings didn't work either because I healed too quickly, so the pain never really lasted."

"Wow, you're being very forthcoming about everything that has happened to you." Seras remarked. "Thank you for sharing that with me."

Lucky shrugged her shoulders. "What's the use in being whiny or pissy about what happened to me? Anyway, there's no use in harboring a grudge because the way I see it, all those guys that did this to me are dead now. Besides, a desire for revenge is pointless. Now that I know I can exist without having to hunt, there's no need for me to commit suicide. The only thing left for me to be upset about is that I'm a lab experiment again." She finished the last of the first bag and drained the second. "Do you have a napkin?" Seras lent her a handkerchief to wipe her mouth. "Thanks. Anywho, I don't like being pinned up. Is there any way you could get your Master to let me get some exercise out in the gardens? If she has any quelms about me running away, then she can simply have you babysit me."

"Babysit?"

"Guard, babysit..it's all the same thing." She said flippantly. "Could you at least ask, please? You guys seem decent enough and I don't think my request is all that much to ask."

"Well, uh..yeah..sure. I'll go right now." Seras turned to leave, but Lucky's hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"Hey,..um...do you think we could be friends?" Lucky asked, blushing. "I could really use one in this place."

Seras grinned. "Of course! Bye!"

"See ya."

Seras left the basement in a hurry. It had been a long time since she felt she had a friend. She was determined to help Lucky any way she could. In a way, she could empathise with the other woman. Although they had faced dissimilar circumstances, both of them had managed to conquer the demons of their past without outside help.

Seras found Sir Integra in the library reading a book on exorcisms. "Yes, Seras, what is it." Sir Integra didn't even look up from the page she was reading.

"Lucky asked to have a walk in the gardens."

Sir Integra snorted. "What does that girl think this place is? A prison? As long as you or Alucard is keeping watch over her and she doesn't feed on my men, I don't give a damn where she is or what she does."

"Okay, Sir Integra..thanks.." She sweatdropped and laughed nervously. Even as a fully-fledged Draculina, Integra could still scare her without trying. She gathered her wits and ran back downstairs to tell her new friend the good news.

"She said it's okay and that you can go wherever you want as long as you don't bother the guards and have me or Alucard with you." She relayed the verdict with an excited smile. "Let's go for that walk!"

"I saw the gardens on the way in and I think they're magnificent." Lucky told her. "I can't wait to see them up close."

"Yeah, it's nice to have time to relax and enjoy things." Seras replied with a thoughtful look in her eyes. "To tell you the truth, I've never really had the time to relax since I became a part of the Hellsing Organization. We were always training or fighting because of the Freaks, but ever since that full-out war a few weeks ago, there's been almost nothing to do. Occasionally, we're called in because of cases of Freaks that survived in isolated labs like the one we found you in, but nothing that was really hard to deal with."

"Seras," Lucky was bent over examining a little yellow peony blossom. "Do you know anything about the process that turned me into a vampire?"

"Not really. We only know that it has something to do with implanting a chip into a nearly dead human's head. The chip is what causes the synthetic vampire powers."

"Would I die without the chip?"

"Maybe. It depends on the shape you were in before the chip was implanted, I guess. Like I said, we don't have much to go on. That's why you're so valuable to us. It's because you seem to be able to somewhat repress aspects of your implant."

"Yeah, I overheard that part. Did the other Freaks go berserk with a need for blood?" She climbed a nearby oak tree with ease and took in the view of London it provided.

"Something like that. Although, I think that the other Freak vampires really wanted the transformation and that's what made them so eager."

"If it's something as simple as my way of thinking that has this chip in check, then the others must have been pretty weak to have been taken in by the need for power so easily. Speaking of which, I'm not sure if I would have wanted this or not, Seras. If I'd been asked instead of kidnapped, I'm not so sure if I'd have said no. Immortality is something loads of people dream about, you know?"

"Yeah, I was made because I was afraid to die. I was a police officer before this and, long story short, I was mortally wounded and Alucard gave me a way to hang onto life."

"Why do vampires have to wax philosophic all the time?" Lucky smirked. "Brood, brood, brood. Damn! I simply disliked the idea of murder. This blood donor thing I can live with and not worry about being evil or shit like that. It's like eating a soyburger or something."

"Yeah, I guess. You know, Lucky, don't be offended, but you're kinda weird."

"I thought you'd say something like that. Oh well, better to be weird than be swallowed by my own guilty feelings. Where'd you get those blood packs, anyway? Just for future reference."

"They're in a huge refridgerator on the main floor on the west side. I'll take you there before we go to sleep this morning."

"You know, I wish I could dream, Seras." Lucky suddenly blurted out.

"Yeah, that's something I miss about being human, too. The next best thing is astral travel. I'll try to teach it to you if you want. I don't know if it's something that Freak vampires can do, though."

"Astral travel...isn't that sort of like an out of body experience?"

"Yep, you can go anywhere you want in spirit-form, invisible to humans and most vampires. The natural vampires who are really powerful like Alucard or me could probably sense you even if we couldn't see actually see you. Well, actually, Alucard could probably make out a very faint outline of you because he's so old."

"Hm, is that how it works then? The older a vampire is, the more powerful it is?" She hung upside down, her brown hair nearly touching the dirt. "Makes sense. It's like the opposite of a human."

"Lucky, do you think you'll get your memories of being human back?"

"Maybe. This amnesia thing really has me annoyed. I mean, I'd like to know if I left behind people that really needed me. Like a little brother who's wondering where his sister went, or maybe an older one who's feeling guilty now because of my disappearance. Or maybe a sick parent or grandparent who depended solely on me. Heck, even if it turned out that I have a deadbeat dad and alcoholic druggie mom and I was a cocain addict selling my body for my next fix, I still want to know." She gave a bitter laugh and sighed.

"What would you like your life to have been?"

"Hm..I don't really know. Interesting, I guess. If it turns out I went to community college and ended up working in a cubical, then I would wonder what the fuck my human self was thinking. I hope I worked at a zoo or someplace outdoors. Maybe a park ranger. I love animals. I'd like to have had a huge family, too. A bunch of siblings that annoyed the shit out of me, but weren't actually assholes. I'd want my parents to have been happy with their lives, still married after years and years or divorced and remarried or whatever. Just happy and alive."

"That sounds really nice. I hope you had a nice life before."

"Yep, and even if I didn't, well, I've got a better lot in life now, right?" She grinned at her cheerfully.

"Right."

"So what was your life like before?"

"Well, I..don't really like talking about it. Could I maybe tell you after we've been friends a bit longer?" Seras bit her lip.

"Oh, yeah. Sure thing, babydoll. Sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. You don't have to tell me at all if you're not comfortable with it." She righted herself and casually perched herself on the branch.

"No, I'd like to tell you someday. Just not today." Seras said with a sad smile. "Will you tell me about your human life if you ever remember it?"

"Of course. Nobody else would be interested."

"I beg to differ." Alucard's voice caused them both to jump. He had appeared out of nowhere just a few yards away. "Seras, you didn't even think to invite me on this little outting? I'm hurt." He chuckled at his own sarcasm. "And for your information, Seras, I would be able to see an astral being as clearly as I can see the tangles in that blonde mop of yours."

"M-master..."

"You no longer need to address me as such. You are a No-Life Queen now and my equal. My name is Alucard. Use it."

"What should I call you, other than an eavesdropping assface?" Sneered Lucky.

"Name-calling? Your childish attitude fascinates and amuses me, as does your gall and lack of wit. As for your question, you may call me Alucard as well. Consider it a token of my appreciation for being a welcome distraction from the boredom I have been subjected to these past few weeks."

"I'm pretty sure you just insulted me in a roundabout way."

"You would be correct in that assumption."

"You know, how about I amuse you with my fists, Mister Alucard?"

Seras waved her arms about in a panicked manner. "No, no, please don't fight. Really, there's no need for it!"

"Very well, I accept your challange, Lucky. Although, to make it fair since I consider myself a reasonable vampire when it comes to mere games, I will refrain from using my usual tricks and bludgeon you with my fists alone. Also, I promise not to kill you. It will be good for us both to relieve a little of our tensions."

Lucky glared at him resentfully. "Oh, buddy, I've been waiting for this since you tossed me over your shoulder like a sack of wheat! Hell, yeah, beating you up will make me feel a hell of a lot better!" She glanced to her right where Seras was still trying to keep them from engaging each other. Apparently, she hadn't noticed that her words were going unheeded. "Let's go some place less pretty. I'd hate to mess up any of the flowers."

Alucard cackled madly. "Ah, yes, of course you would worry about something so trivial as ruined flowerbeds. You keep me guessing, Freak. And your strategy to keep me out of your mind is interesting, even if it doesn't really work. Your thoughts are as strong as your emotions and hiding them from me is like trying to hide an elephant behind a tiny bush. You get an "A" For effort, though." It took a few minutes for the three of them to walk to a spot of bald ground behind the barracks that served as a training area.

"What is he talking about?" Seras whispered to Lucky as they made their way over.

"Well, I was trying to keep him from reading my true thoughts by thinking surface thoughts like little random facts I remember or stuff like that, but apparently he can see past that." She shook her head. "It was worth a try. Now get out of my head." She growled at him.

"You dare to order me around?" And just like that, they began pummelling each other. It was a very short fight with Alucard being the ultimate winner of course and with hardly a scratch on him. Lucky was practically a pulp, though. Both eyes were blackened and her nose oozed blood, and Seras was sure she'd heard a rib snap sometime during the fight. In spite of that, both Alucard and Lucky were grinning manically and shook hands.

Alucard threw her a blood pack. "Drink this, it will make you heal even faster."

"Sure. You know, now that I've tried my best to kick your ass, I kinda like you a bit more than I did. Even if you did punch the living daylights out of me."

"I believe the respect to be mutual. Not many would have taken me on even on such limited and favorable terms. You have earned that much, at least. My victory is merely technical. I call this match a draw on the grounds that you have courage and strength of spirit. These are human traits that I admire greatly and for them to be present in a Freak vampire is truly remarkable. I commend you." He smiled proudly, showing more than a little fang in the gesture.

"Yeah, thanks. Nice fighting with you, hope to do it again sometime. Thanks for the blood, too. I'm sure that was meant to be your dinner. How about you stop the whole 'lone-wolf' act for a bit and hang out with a couple of good-looking girls for a while. It has to be a better prospect than going around creeping out all of the poor humans or whatever it is you do in your spare time that doesn't involve killing, maiming or painful activities."

Alucard's eyes glinted behind his tinted glasses. "I will gladly take you up on that offer."

Seras looked several times back and forth between her former master and her new friend. "You people scare me." She said, her left eye twitched a little.

"Lead on, ladies." He swept down in a charmingly formal bow.

"I'd like to see the rest of the gardens, if you two don't mind." Lucky said cheerfully. "I only got to see a little of them before a certain assface got in my way." Alucard merely smirked at the verbal abuse and allowed her to take them back to the gardens where they spent a peaceful night of enjoying the grounds.

When it came time for them to finally part ways, they did so with a silent agreement to meet up again as soon as possible. Alucard and Seras left Lucky at her broom closet and continued on to their shared quarters. Seras sat on the edge of her coffin while her former Master sipped a glass of red wine. It was the only human food that she had ever known him to consume. She wondered if he simply did it out of habit because she knew for a fact that human food and drink tasted like ashes to vampires. "Why do you stare at me, Seras?"

"I don't know, Mas-...Alucard. It's just that..I..well...Lucky...she.."

"You find her familiar in some way, do you not? As if you've known her and that is why you get on so well with her."

"Uh..huh...yes, I suppose that's what it is." She thought about it for a few minutes. "I like her. If we find some way to get that darn chip out of her, without killing her, I'd like to turn her into a real vampire if that's what she wants."

"No, Seras. Even if she wants it, do not do that. She is fine as she is and would be an even finer human if we can, as you have said, reverse the remaining effects of the chip and remove it entirely from her body." Alucard took a long draught from his wine and swirled it in his cup. "I have given the matter some thought and I believe to have come to a conclusion which explains both her amnesia and the chip's apparent defect. I believe that she was delt a blow to the head quite soon after the chip was implanted. The blow would have caused the amnesia, but may have also damaged the chip before it had time to fully take over."

"That makes perfect sense, but how are we going to use that theory to help Walter? Are you suggesting that we bash him in the head with a bat or something?" She tried to imagine hitting him with an aluminium bat and couldn't help but giggle.

"An amusing thought, Seras, but no. I would like to try electrocution. Sort of like electro-shock therapy which they use on mental patients. We'll try it on Lucky first."  
"How would shocking them half to death help them?"

"The electrical signals sent by the chip would be interrupted by an EMP and destroy it. The EMP would leave organic matter, in this case our dear Lucky's brain, unharmed. Well, maybe. It could also make her a brain-dead vegetable."

" I don't think she'll take too kindly to that idea."

"I will bring it up with Sir Integra as soon as she awakens. Now, get some sleep Seras. You have been up for far longer than you are used to. It's nearly six in the morning."

"Yessir." Alucard rolled his eyes. She still took orders from him. He was hoping for at least a bit of self-realization after she became a Draculina, but no, she didn't even ask for ten more minutes.

"And, Seras, yes. It is a habit."

"Good morning, Alucard."

"Yes, sleep well." He sensed her fall into the abyss of sleep and almost immediately heard the sound he had been waiting for; the ringing of his Master's wake-up alarm. If he hurried, he smiled lecherously, he might catch her in a state of undress. She was always deliciously cranky in the morning before her coffee and first cigar of the day. Perhaps she'd throw her favorite ashtray at him. He chuckled as he phased up through the floor and into her office.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: I own nothing and I do not intend to claim any monetary reward for writing this.

The next night, Lucky found herself strapped into a makeshift electric chair. She grumbled about the moniters glued to her forehead. "These things are itchy. If I'm still alive after this, then I'm going to get a rash."

"Oh, be quiet." Sir Integra snapped. She was still testy after Alucard's little stunt that morning. She'd shattered her favorite crystal ashtray when it hit the wall beside his head. Damn vampire had dodged just in the nick of time, a few inches to the left and he would have had to heal all the bones in the right side of his face. "Seras, flick that switch, please. Hopefully, this won't blow the fuses. Those are expensive."

"Oh, yep. Discuss the repercussions of shocking me to death in terms of the financial loss of a few fuses. That's nice."

"Didn't I tell you to shut up? I specifically remember ordering you to." Sir Integra glowered, shooting metaphorical daggers with her gaze that made Lucky instinctively back down. "Oh, and Lucky?

"Yeah?"

"If you live through this, you are invited to join the Hellsing Organization. Invited meaning if you don't then we will have kill you."

"Not much of a choice, but what the hell? Fine. I accept."

"Good, now brace yourself."

The pain was indescribible as every single muscle in Lucky's body tensed and spasmed. She felt her heart stop and she actually smelled the stink of burnt hair. The pain was so incredible that she couldn't think and every millisecond seemed like an hour. It felt like a charley horse that affected her entire body, only a thousand times worse. She tasted copper and salt where she'd bitten her tongue and her throat was raw from a scream she didn't even know she'd let loose. Then suddenly the pain stopped and she gasped and choked. Blood poured out of her mouth and made a dismal puddle at her feet. That was the last thing she saw before blacking out.

"...fangs have shrunk. The chip is no longer emitting a signal." She heard a familiar voice close to her ear. It was Alucard, she realized. "She is fully human once more. Also, she's alive and she's eavesdropping. How hypocritical. Can you say anything, Lucky?"

"My name..."

"So she can talk, that's a good sign." That was Sir Integra to her left. Wow, compared to her memories being a sort-of vampire, her human senses were incredibly dull. That would take some getting used to.

"My name isn't Lucky." She said. She gritted her teeth. Everything was causing her pain, right down to the follicles of hair on her head. At least she still had some and it hadn't been burnt off. "My name is Sarah. Sarah Seiger. I am 23 years old and I worked for a veterinary clinic in Dusseldorf, Germany. My parents live in the United States and are divorced. I have four siblings. They are three boys, triplets, attending middle school in Arizona and my half-sister who is currently in preschool in Maine living happily with our mother and my stepfather." Lucky looked amazed as she rattled off the information. She giddily turned her head to find Seras with bloody tears flowing down her cheeks.

"Well, I'll be damned. It actually worked." Sir Integra, for once, looked somewhat shocked.

"My memory's back!" Lucky shouted, not caring about the strain it caused or the fact that everything in her ached. She wanted to get up and do a happy little dance to celebrate, but as soon as she tried to get up, her legs crumpled under her and she slipped once again into unconciousness.

"That turned out better than we all expected." Sir Integra remarked, lighting up a cigar to calm herself. "And it even had a pleasent side effect. This will make the mandatory background check much easier."

"I'm very happy for her." Seras chirped. "Plus, she's human again."

"I cannot wait to assist with her training." Alucard said in earnest. "Her survival means I won't lack in amusements."

"Hey, she's not a toy!" Seras growled.

"Allow me to disagree." He replied with a defiant air.

"Oh, shut up. The pair of you are giving me a headache." Sir Integra rubbed at her temples. "I am going to bed now. Good night to both of you servants."

The two vampires watched her ascend the stairs to her bedroom. "This means that it could work on Walter, too." Seras said eagerly.

"Or it could kill him. Who knows? Perhaps Lucky...I mean Sarah's survival was a fluke."

"In any case, we should get her to a proper bed. She shouldn't be sleeping in a coffin anymore." Seras touched her friends head gingerly. "Oh, and I think she'll be wanting a haircut tomorrow."

"So, what do you think? I had to take off most of it, sorry." Seras gave her friend a mirror. The shock had singed Sarah's long hair very badly and Seras had taken it upon herself to assist in the cosmetic clean-up.

"You know," Sarah observed the very short state of her hair. "I think this is a good look for me. Thanks."

"So what are you going to do now that you have your memories back?" Seras asked curiously.

Sarah thought for a moment. "I guess I should let my family know I'm not dead. They haven't heard from me in over six months. They probably think I'm dead in a gutter somewhere. I can't have them mourning me when I'm in perfect health." She winced as she got up from the chair. "Well, mostly, anyway. Damn, I'm still sore."

Seras nodded. "At least you have a few more days to rest up before Sir Integra starts training you. She started working with me as soon as I was concious when I first came here. I think that she also wants to see if you survive. By the way, I think you should know that I've been listening to your heart and I think the shock has caused some temporary arithmia, so I wouldn't do anything strenuous like lifting an object heavier than a jug of milk."

"Nothing over five pounds for three days? I can handle that." She rotated her arm. "I feel like a visit to the chiropractor should be on the agenda, too. Do me a favor and crack my back, please. Watch it, I'd rather not have a crushed vertabra in addition to an arithmia, thanks." She sighed as the bones clicked back into place. "That was great, I appreciate it."

"No problem."

"Hey, do you know if Sir Integra has all of my stuff in order yet?"

Seras blushed deeply. She'd forgotten all about Sarah's cards. "Yeah, here they are. The wallet is a gift from Sir Integra."

"Wow, kid leather, nice. Everything's here, then?" She flipped through the cards; credit, debit, ID, license- "Okay, this has to be some sort of joke. She gave me a blood donor card, too? Haha."

"Huh, she must have been in a good mood. How ironic." Seras smiled faintly. "AB+. You know, you're exactly my least favorite bloodtype."

"Oh, yeah. I remember. Different bloodtypes have different tastes, don't they? If I remember correctly, AB+ is kinda sour."

Seras made a face. "Yeah, the best is O-, but Alucard's favorite is A+. He says that it's because that's Father Anderson's bloodtype."

"Oh? You think Alucard might have a teensy crush on that guy?"

Seras blanched. "Uh...I dunno. He seems to like him an awful lot, but I think it's more of a bromance kinda thing. Besides, if anything, I'd say he has the hots for Sir Integra-"

"What gives you two the right, I wonder, to discuss me behind my back?" They both whipped around to see the head of the house standing in the doorway of the restroom. "You're up early, Seras. And you're still alive, Sarah. Good, everything is in order then, for now. That was all I needed to really know." She made to leave, then looked over her shoulder. "Hm, that haircut does indeed suit you, Sarah. You should keep it that way. Also, it'll be less likely to get in the way during your training. Practical and pleasent to the eye. Good job with those scissors, Seras. You could have been a beautician."

"Uh, thanks, I think." Seras said to her as Integra walked away.

"Well, she's certainly more pleasent today than I've ever seen her." Sarah commented under her breath. "I wonder what has her in such a good mood? It couldn't be that I lived through that little experiment, could it? Nah, she was indifferent to whether I lived or died."

"Actually," Seras corrected sternly, "she was very much caught up with the result of our test. She wants to know if it will work on a former friend of ours who was brainwashed into serving some people on the same side as the guys who kidnapped you. Your life is very important to her. She simply doesn't know how to express that without showing what she percieves as weakness. In some ways, this fake cold indifference is what has kept her alive and respected among her enemies."

"Huh, well, good for her. Glad I could make her day. Anywho, how about a game of checkers before you hit the sack?" She pulled out a board and set the pieces up.

"I get to play the winner." Alucard appeared behind Seras with his signiture smirk. "Good morning to you both."

"Seras, sorry, but I've gotta beat you so that I can kick his ass. I can't do it physically, but nobody has ever beaten me at any boardgame in my entire life!"

A few minutes later, she stared dumbfounded as Alucard easily crowned his third king and took down her last checker on the board. "That's...not possible."

"I think you're taking this a bit more harshly than you should, Sarah." Seras giggled at her friend's expression. "It's just a game-"

"BEST TWO OUT OF THREE, VAMPIRE!"

"You're on, Sarah, but I warn you, I was the best strategist of my century and I have yet to hear of someone better or even close to my prowess." Alucard stated, his lips quirking up at the edges. He reset the pieces and switched colors with her with a flick of his wrist using his telekinesis. "You may make the first move."

In the end, Alucard did beat her, although she won the final third game. He congratulated her greatly and thanked her for the entertainment, then went to his coffin. "I swear, one of these days, I'm going to find something that I'm better at than that damn suave vampire!" Sarah vowed humorously. Well, it made Seras laugh, anyway. Sarah was perfectly serious when she said it and didn't appreciate Seras' doubt very much.

Over the next few days, Seras, Alucard, Integra, and even a few of the guards found out something new about Sarah. The woman was an absolute neat-freak. First, she'd cleaned her new bedroom to immaculate standards, then she moved on to the rest of the house, starting with the basement and moving up. She busied herself by beating out old carpets and vacuuming the floors and dusting the valuable antiques throughout the mansion. This was quite impressive, especially given the size of that sort of task. By the evening of the third day of her recovery period, she had polished the very last speck of dirt off of the very last item in the house that needed to be cleaned. "You know, instead of a soldier, maybe she should be a maid."

"Not a bad idea, of course we'll still need to train her up a bit."

"Obviously. In any case, I'm looking forward to not having to wake up early to make my own morning coffee anymore." Sir Integra brushed off an invisible piece of lint from her dresspants.

"My dear God, she even did the fucking laundry. " Sir Integra shook her head incredulously. "That woman is a machine."

"Yes, a washing machine." Seras said through her fits of giggles.

"How pun-derful to know I'm appreciated. Especially when you guys talk about me as if I'm not in the room." Sarah stood with a dustrag in hand with a slightly annoyed, but goodnatured expression. "Ba-dum-tuss. Thank you, that was Seras Victoria, Ladies and gentlemen. She'll be here all week... cracking jokes at my expense."

Seras turned a little red, but laughed along with her. "How are you feeling?"

"Well, let's see. A fraction of a smidge of a bit better since you last asked me that two hours ago." She said jokingly. "Seriously, babes, I'm fine. I'm feeling better than ever. Especially knowing that I'm sleeping in a clean place. Apparently, no one else who lives here knows how to pick up after themselves, but I guess I should be thanking you bunch of slobs. It gave me something to focus on so I could get over the initial marginal pain. Now I feel great. I'm looking forward to kicking ass and taking names on that training field tomorrow."

Sir Integra took a sip of her coffee. "You seem to be very confident, despite having had no sort of fighting training at all."

"Trust me, I'm a quick learner." Sarah reassured her boss. "I'll be the best militaristic maid you've ever had! Hi-ya!" She karate chopped an invisible foe. "Oh, and do me a favor and don't go easy on me. Hell, make me go a few rounds with good ol' Al over there-"

The aforementioned vampire raised a questioning eyebrow. "Al?"

"Toughen me up, my friend. I can definitely take it. After all, I've nearly died twice in one lifetime already, three's the charm!"

"I thought you'd given up being suicidal." He said snarkily. "But I'll be glad to help you out."

"Bring it on, my friend. Bring. It. On." They grinned that crazy shared grin that somehow managed to always give Seras the chills even though the amount of exposure she'd had to it should have made her immune by now.

"Alright, that's enough!" Sir Integra glowered at her subordinates with the sort of angry heat that made hellfire look like a lit birthday candle in comparison. "Let's be serious now. Your training will start at five am sharp. Don't be late or you will be subject to punishment."

"Sir, yes, sir!"

The trio exited her office, but she called Alucard back to her. "Make sure that Sarah doesn't take this too far and actually kill herself. She doesn't seem to know her own limits and I'm hesitant to work her too hard even now that she's had a short time to heal from her ordeal. She could be a great asset to us once she feels out her boundries and is fully trained. She might be able surpass our expectations."

"She reminds me of Walter when he was younger, only a bit less dreary and more subject to wearing her thoughts and emotions on her sleeve."

"At least she's intelligent, though she doesn't always act like it." Integra nodded. "Yes, I just know that I will not regret employing her."

"Intuition, my Master?"

"More like an educated guess." Integra said with a smirk.

~H_E_L_L_S_I_N_G~

Half a year and four weeks after Sarah had dived headfirst into "Hellsing Bootcamp" (as she called it), she was finally strong enough to be given a weapon. She had her choice and picked a rather nasty little piece of work called a Medusa, a handgun that shot multiple mercury pellets at once like shrapenel, along with a number of tiny blessed throwing knives with silver plated blades which she lovingly refered to as her Blessed Pins. Despite the length of time she'd spent with the Hellsing Organization, she felt that it had passed in the blink of an eye. Nothing eventful had really happened that warrented a need for her newly acquired skills, but she was determined to train until such a time as she was needed. But right now, she was only truly useful as a domestic.

On the bright side of that rather dull coin was the fact that visitors to the ancestral manor often remarked how the beauty of the place was enhanced by the remarkable upkeep and cleanliness provided by the cleaning staff remarkably comprised of only a single maid who did the work of twenty maids, plus a butler, chapereone, and gardener to boot. Not to mention honerary coffee brewer to the head of house, Sir Integra Wingates Hellsing Queen of All She-Cats of the Deepest Bowls of the Nineth Circle, as Sarah fondly referred to her in private.

Less official was her status as jester to the resident No-Life King Alucard. He would often pop up out of nowhere and annoy her for his own amusement or challenge her to games which he would, of course, win despite her valliant efforts towards finding something at which to beat him like an old carpet. Unfortunately for her, that particular carpet was very cunning and would manage to evade the metaphorical tennis racket with which she would attempt to beat him. Speaking of beating vampiric assfaces with sporting equipment, she was still vital to curing Walter of his little problem. The good news was that the experiments conducted on her had been successful in all respects except that Walter's physical age was still subject to wobble between infant, child, teen, young adult, and his natural form. He had began to finally eat, though, which was a plus as no one was too keen on the idea of him starving to death in the basement even if he was a traitor. Of course, it might have also had something to do with Sarah's threats to not be the one who would clean up that sort of mess. It seemed that while bloodstains on cravats, dusting shelves, and mending accidental cigar burns on the furniture were well within her willing expertise, she would stop a bit short of disposing of a dead and decaying body.

Thus, Walter was alive and more or less human thanks to Sarah, but it's not as if he were in any state to announce any sort of gratitude, if he had any. In fact, he was practically comatose most of the time. Still, there was hope that, with time, his body would stabilize and he may even return to more or less normal. There was still no way to tell if he was still brainwashed or their efforts to get through to him had succeeded. Only time could tell.

Sarah and Seras were inseperable these days, which of course fucked with their sleep schedules to no end, but a few hours of sacrificed snoozes were a small price to pay to hang out with one's best friend. Since Sarah had proved herself to be relatively reliable and quite loyal to the Organization she was allowed to leave the grounds from time to time on break from her rigorous training schedule. Typically, she spent these breaks with Seras. They had found a mutual love of old movies and crafts. They loved to browse craft shops for supplies and enjoyed renting black and white films. Sometimes, though, they would go to the park at night with snacks (usually a bloodbag or two for Seras and an apple and milk for Sarah) and look at the stars or go to the late night stores to shop for their soldier friends and to get household supplies.

Tonight was special, though, because the next day was a fellow soldier's birthday and both of them thought it appropriate to get him a gift. Sarah drove the both of them to the store in one of the cars that Sir Integra had entrusted her with as her official chaperone. "What do you think Louis would like?" Seras considered as they made their way in.

"Oh, I think he'd like one of those joke cards. He's always cracking bad knock-knock jokes in the barracks." They laughed. "Maybe I should get him a joke book, too, that'll be my half of the gift."

Seras nodded. "Yeah, and he's been complaining that his canteen is leaky since a couple of days ago he bashed it on a few rocks during training exercises. I think I'll buy him a new one."

Sarah glanced over at the groceries and pursed her lips. "Hm..okay, besides the birthday gifts, card, cake and candles, we need to get detergent, air freshener, wood varnish, Windex, and bleach. We also need some canned green beans, pineapple, apples, milk, coconut, ham, turkey, peanut butter, butter, potatoes and cooking oil."

"I'll get the birthday cake, my gift for Louis and the rest of the food while you can get the other stuff, okay?" Seras volunteered and trotted off with a shopping cart. Sarah went in the opposite direction. She was nearly knocked over several times by many rude people. She rubbed her hand ruefully where it had been hit by a passing cart. "Damn, there's a bunch of people here tonight. Is there supposed to be a storm or something?" The crowd made her want to get what she needed and get out as soon as possible. She passed by a jewelry counter and noticed that there were several beautiful rosaries on display. A wave of nostalgia hit her and she smiled. Her parents had raised her as a strict Catholic, although the teachings hadn't ever really stuck because Lord knew she'd done everything she'd been taught she shouldn't. Actually, she hadn't really given religion much of a thought since she'd moved out of her parent's house and out of the country. However, she forced herself to blink back tears because she was so thankful now that she could remember her childhood at all. She was tempted to buy one, simply to remind her of how lucky she was. Hell, maybe there really was something to the faith after all. Someone had to be looking out for her after all of the good that had happened to her lately.

"Aye, they're beautiful, aren't they, lass?" She hadn't even heard a man come up behind her. He smiled kindly at her, then turned to the cashier. "How much for the blue?" The woman behind the counter told him the price and Sarah's heart nearly stopped. Three hundred and sixty dollars?! The man didn't seem fazed at all and handed over the money in cash, no less. He cradled her hand gently in his own and wrapped her hand around the box containing the rosary. "You seemed like you needed a bit of direction in your life, my dear. Maybe this will help?"

"Thank you..." She was absolutely overcome. No one had ever done anything like this before for her! This stranger, a man of the cloth judging by the way he was dressed, had done such a remarkable thing. She couldn't make her lips shape any other words. She was too shocked.

"Your gratitude is radiant. You are most welcome. It is my duty to help those who have lost their way." She took the time to take in his appearance. He was very tall with short blond hair and kind green eyes that sparkled like cut emeralds behind his glasses. Laugh lines around his mouth and eyes indicated that he had a bit of age, but he couldn't be more than forty. His accent was lilting, a musical Scottish brogue.

For the first time in her life, she didn't have anything to say. When she finally forced herself to talk, she stumbled over herself and blushed. "Um, my friend and I were planning on having dinner soon, would you like to join us? It's nothing special, just McDonald's, but-"

He smiled and shook his head. "As much as I would love to take you up on that, I have to decline. I have somewhere to be soon." He took his hand away. She hadn't even realized he was still holding it. "However, if the you would be so kind as to reschedule, I'd be happy to meet you for lunch next Tuesday at noon in the park."

"Yeah, sure, that'd be great!" She said and was embarrassed that she could hear the eagerness in her own voice. "I'll be there." She assured him with what she hoped was a charming smile. Mentally, she was berating herself for acting like a dunce. She continued to barrage herself insults until she and the nice stranger had parted ways.

The entire time, she couldn't stop thinking about him. It was actually pretty dangerous because her mind was on his eyes and not on her driving. She nearly hit a tree, but Seras grabbed the wheel just in time. "What's wrong with you? You've been spacey since we checked out of the store." Seras commented out of irritation.

"Sorry, it's just..." Sarah sighed and smiled to herself. "I can't even explain it myself."

"Well, at least try because I'd rather not have to explain why we crashed Sir Integra's very nice car." Seras fumed. So, Sarah told her everything that had happened and was promptly given a firm conk on the head. "You didn't even get that guy's name? Or phone number? What if he has to cancel?"

"He won't cancel." Sarah didn't know how she knew, but she just did. "He won't."

Seras smiled and rolled her eyes. "Look at you, you're making such a cute face right now. I wish you could see it!" She gushed over her friend. "Now, this is great. All we have to do is convince Sir Integra to let you off that day."

Sarah had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Oh, shit."

~H_E_L_L_S_I_N_G~

Contrary to what both of them had expected, Sir Integra hadn't even batted an eye to the request and merely asked Sarah to be back at Headquarters before the sun had set. Sarah spent the entire week beforehand putting everything she had into her training so that the time would seem to go faster. Her efforts worked almost too well and she found herself staring in the mirror two hours before she was supposed to meet him with a hopeless expression. "Seras, I have never been this scared in my life."

Seras lounged on Sarah's bed. "Haven't you ever been on a date before?"

"No, I always thought that kind of thing was a waste of time." Sarah rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I don't know what's gotten into me!"

Seras smirked knowingly. "I think I do and I think it's the cutest thing in the world. Do you think I'll get to meet him someday?"

"I don't know. Maybe." Sarah went through her closet for the fifth time. She ran a frustrated hand through her hair. "Damnit, nothing looks right!"

"How about I pick out something?" She held up a nice lavender shirt and matching skirt. "This outfit practically screams 'first date'."

"It's not a date."

Seras looked unconvinced. "Do you have any dresses?"

"You know I don't wear them. Besides, I never said no to your first choice." Sarah started to get ready. She decided that a little bit of moose for her hair was enough. She went into her adjoining bathroom to brush her teeth. Seras followed with a gloating smile. "Not to change the subject, but I haven't seen Alucard around very much lately. Have you?"

"No, I just thought he was off tormenting you and making a general pest of himself. Do you think that Sir Integra's been sending him on missions by himself?"

"Probably. That's how it was before you or I got here, right? He might have even asked her for private missions. He's the type who prefers his own company."

"Yes, he is like that, but this feels different somehow. Like he's scouting something out that Sir Integra doesn't want everyone else to know about just yet." Seras said uncertainly. "I don't think it's just my imagination either. Last night, he came in practically reeking of blood, but it didn't smell human or even like vampire blood. I know that I've smelled that kind of blood before, but I can't remember where or when..."

"Seras, if Sir Integra wants us to know, she'll tell us. If it's something that she thinks Alucard can handle on his own, then why worry about it? Also, I'm pretty happy that he's been gone more often. The floors have never been cleaner." She was speaking, of course, about the fact that Alucard would deliberately track mud all over the house just to get under her skin. Naturally, it worked. Last time he did it, Sarah spent three hours cleaning a rug, then another three hours chasing him around the mansion with a feather duster.

Seras merely nodded and fell silent. She'd suspected that Sarah's answer would something like that, but it wouldn't calm her fears. She smiled half-heartedly at her friend and helped her finish getting ready. "You look beautiful." She told her.

"Thanks, babydoll." Sarah beamed. Seras waved goodbye as her friend walked out the door. Once Sarah was out of the driveway, Seras left her room and made her way down to her own where she was surprised to see Alucard reclined in his favorite chair beside the door.

"Hello, Seras. My, you're up late. What's the occasion?" He held a book in his right hand. She couldn't see a title, but it was bound in leather and looked very old.

"Sarah's got a date." Seras said, her excitement rose to the surface once again. "Oh, and she wants you to stop tracking in mud."

He grinned. "Does she not think that the beating with the feather duster was enough of a hint?"

Seras scoffed. "It could hardly be called a beating when she barely laid a feather on you."

He simply shrugged. "True. Now, tell me more about this suitor that has supposedly dared to take on that hellcat of a woman."

Seras took a seat on her coffin. "She's definitely over the moon for him, that's for sure. Which is weird because she doesn't know his name yet. She says that he's really tall-"

Alucard snorted doubtfully. "Yes, well, to a five feet tall person, a few inches more can seem very tall. Go on."

"And apparently he's blond with green eyes, a real dreamboat if you ask her. She told me that's built like a brick shithouse, too. Her words, not mine." She giggled a little. "It's the most adorable thing ever because you should see her when she talks about him. She gets all nervous and shaky, she stutters, and she gets this really starry-eyed expression."

The ancient vampire chuckled darkly, closed his book and folded his hands in his lap. "Sounds very serious, indeed. Eros' arrow has found its true mark yet again." His expression was light, playful even, but there was something in it that made Seras hesitate to say that he was on same page about it. "Hm, I look forward to the moment when he breaks her heart."

Seras gasped and glared at him. "What a terrible thing to say!"

"On the contrary, Seras. I look forward to it, merely so that I may enjoy the moment all the more when I rip out his own." Alucard met her eyes and smiled quite serenely. It made her shiver.

She swallowed hard. "You're the most confusing person I've ever met and that's the truth!"

"Most men are dogs, do not be fooled, Seras Victoria." He said. His tone was now harsh and cold. "I will bet that this one is no different and I will relish ridding the world of him. Sarah does not need a dog in her bed."

Seras stared at him. "You're jealous."

"Pardon?" He raised an eyebrow. "I am simply looking out for a colleague's emotional well-being."

"No, you're jealous and you're acting like a spoiled child." Seras accused bravely. "Sarah can't devote all of her time to chasing you with brooms or feather dusters. Don't hold this against her."

Alucard glared back at her. "She participates and it amuses us both, no matter how much she pretends to complain. It is our own little game, so to speak."

"Why don't you find something else to entertain you?" Seras blurted out. As soon as she said it, she sensed that she was in trouble.

Alucard rose from his chair in one graceful motion and swooped down on her like a bird of prey. "Why don't you assist me in that endeavor, Seras, hmm?" His breath ghosted along her neck, causing her to shudder.

"W-wha..."

He smiled deviously. "Assist me, please." He purred in her ear.


	3. Chapter 3

It was a perfectly beautiful day. The dusty covering of snow that still remained from the night before made the grass look like it had been covered in sugar. There wasn't even a cloud in the sky, but Sarah still glanced up every now and then, expecting the weather to go sour. She huddled into the warmth of her coat, holding her steaming cup of coffee close to her. She'd never been very fond of the cold, but she'd only been sitting on this bench for a few minutes.

Church bells made themselves be heard faintly over the street noise to proclaim the hour and she began to feel a bit of nervous anxiety. What if he didn't come? She decided to stay for a bit longer. Perhaps something had come up that would make him late. Forty-five minutes ticked by as she patiently waited for him to show up. Finally, she gave up and threw away her plastic cup in the bin next to the bench. She trudged sullenly down the street to where her car was parked.

Her eyes were on the ground, so she ended up walking right into someone. She stumbled back and she stepped on an icy patch of the sidewalk. When she didn't feel herself hit the pavement, she opened her eyes to see her stranger. "Sorry," She mumbled.

"I owe you an apology" He admitted sheepishly as he set her back on her feet. "I didn't introduce myself. My name is Alexander. Also, I'm sorry for being late, my work ran me a bit ragged last night and I slept in."

She nodded. "I understand. No worries. Oh, and my name's Sarah."

"Well, now, where would you like to have lunch? I'm leaving the decision to you. I'm not in London very often, so I have no idea where to find a decent meal around here." He laughed as they set off downtown.

"To be honest, I don't get out all that much, so I wouldn't know either. How about there?" She pointed across the street to a tiny restaurant. It looked a bit strange, but interesting. It was squished inbetween two larger buildings, a pub and a taylor's shop. The sign that hung above the door was wooden and painted with a swirling design. "Derry's." She read. "Well, if anything, we can get a sandwich there."

The inside wasn't very crowded and it appeared clean and well-maintained. A waiter showed them to a booth on the far right side, secluded from the rest of the patrons.

"May I ask what you do for a living?"

She answered quickly. "I'm in the military. " It wasn't really a lie, she reasoned.

"Do you enjoy it?" He took a sip of his hot chocolate.

She thought for a moment. "Well, yes. Certain things about it are fun. I enjoy all of the exercises and training. I don't like the bumps and bruises, though." She joked, rubbing her upper arm where she knew a bruise had formed. "Yesterday, I was supposed to be climbing a rock wall. I wanted to push my limits and convince myself to get higher than I'd been able to before." She blushed a bit. "Don't make fun of me, but I'm a bit scared of heights. It's not a paralyzing fear, but it makes me uncomfortable. Anyway, I was redpointing and free climbing when I missed a handhold and fell. My belay caught me, but my momentum caused me to swing hard into the wall."

He frowned disapprovingly. "Please be more careful next time. I'm relieved that you're alright, but that could have ended badly."

"Yeah, you're right, don't worry, I will." She assured him with a smile. "In any case, my training keeps me focused and I like that."

"Have you been deployed yet?" He inquired out of concern.

"No, and I don't really see that happening. Most of the time they have me working menial jobs like janitorial stuff and helping prepare meals." Again, not an actual lie and yet she still felt bad about the vague half-truths she was telling. "A few of my friends go out of their way to tease me about it, but it's all in good fun. All in all, yes. It's nice and I have nothing really to complain about."

The waiter came back around with their food. It smelled delicious and nothing was said for a few minutes while they enjoyed the first few bites. "So, what about you? How's life in the clergy treating you?"

"Wonderful, every day I get to witness the greatest miracle on earth." He closed his eyes and sighed. "Children are one of God's greatest gifts to us all. I can never spend enough time with them. Their innocence and joy is the purest thing I have ever seen. It pains me to know that some of the little ones that I take care of were never appreciated."

Sarah's heart gave a little stutter. Good-looking, a gentleman, and loves kids? This was some real Hallmark channel shit going down. She felt like this was just a dream. "Do you think it would be alright if I visited them with you someday?" She fiddled nervously with her napkin. "I'm not really good with children, but I like them. I like how creative children are."

"Of course," He leaned forward. "I'm sure they would adore you."

She blushed ferociously and averted her eyes. "Where is the orphanage, anyway?"

"Rome." He gauged her reaction. "Come with me to Rome, Sarah." He grasped her hand tightly. "Please, it would make me happy. You would love it, I know you would. We could attend to the children together and I could show you the beauty of Italy."

"Alexander, I don't know if I can do that." She replied hesitantly. "We've barely known each other for a week. I enjoy your company and what you're saying sounds wonderful, but I can't right now. I'm not saying no. I want to go, really. I've always wanted to see other countries, it's why I moved to Germany, but my work requires me to stay here for now. I have to continue with my training and that is important to me."

He nodded, immediately understanding. "Forgive me, I was being selfish." His eyes softened. "Would you at least come to church with me? One of my favorite pastimes is to sit on the steps of the House of God and read."

"Yes, that actually sounds very nice." They finished their meal and Alexander insisted on footing the bill, despite her protest. The pair would headed south, down Church's End road, onto the Burroughs, turning right onto Egerton Gardens and going straight to Hendon Church Our Lady of Dolours. It would take about an hour by car and the pair talked casually to pass the time.

"You said you lived in Germany once. How was it?"

"Wunderbar! It was great. I taught myself to speak fluent German while I was in high school because I've always wanted to go there. Patience has never been a virtue of mine, so I ended up with my degree falling a bit short of my original intentions and have had to temporarily settle with a license that only allows me to be the equivalent of a human nurse, only for animals. Veterinary school was really hard, though, I won't lie. I really struggled and I thought I wasn't going to make it, but I did make it more or less. Anyway, once I was out of college I scrimped and saved most of the money I made from working a small-town clinic in Maine. Once I had enough money for a plane ticket I rushed off to Germany." She laughed. "Boy, that was a mistake. I didn't have a clue! I thought I knew all this stuff about what it would be like and I was sure I wouldn't be overwhelmed, but once I stepped off that plane I had no idea what I was going to do next. I barely had enough money for a hotel." She took the turn onto Egerton Gardens. "So, after about half a day of panicking and running around like a chicken with its head cut off, I calmed myself down and settled into a nice little place called Hotel Cristall not far from the airport. I hadn't really paid attention when I'd ordered my ticket. The way I'd figured, anywhere was as good as the other, so I'd landed in Dusseldorf."

He listened with great interest. "That must have been overwhelming, considering that's the seventh most populated city in Germany."

"Overwhelming is an understatement. It's gorgeous though. I fell in love when I looked out my hotel window and saw so many beautiful twinkling lights." He noticed that there was a bit of longing and sadness in her nostalgic smile. "Alexander, it sounds so impulsive and silly, I know, but I knew right then that it was where I was supposed to be. It didn't matter how hard I had to work to find a job. I was determined to stay there and live out the rest of my life in that wonderful country. It had everything I could want or need."

He frowned in confusion. "I don't understand, if you loved it that much how did you end up here in England?"

She sighed heavily and didn't answer for a minute. "I had..an accident. I was knocked unconscious by a thug and kidnapped. It caused me to lose my memory for a while, about a year I think, but I was saved by the police. I went home to the U.S. for a little while, but I couldn't stay there for very long. I decided to come here simply to get away and relax. My father gave me the money without question. He just wanted me to get better any way I could and travelling had always soothed me. Soon after I arrived in London I regained my memory because I accidentally shocked myself half to death." She hoped that her faux embarrassed expression would help him believe the lie. After all, it had some truth it, so she shouldn't feel this bad about telling him, should she?

"You certainly are accident-prone, aren't you? I'll have to keep you away from anything dangerous." He chuckled and motioned for her to go on.

"After that, I sort of filed for English citizenship and decided to try a different course with my life."

"I'd say so. You went from treating sick animals to basic training. That's practically a whole other world."

"Oh, it is." She parked them right beside a meter. "What about you? Have you always known that you would be what you are now?"

He shook his head. "No, not exactly." He wasn't being very forthcoming about his life, she observed. Did something happen to him that he's not willing to tell her? She'd spilled out her guts to him and he was holding back. She supposed she couldn't really blame him. After all, everyone goes at their own pace. He pulled out a Bible from his coat and took a seat on the steps. She sat beside him and peered over to see what passages he was reading. He smiled and opened his arms to her, then read aloud to her several of his favorite passages. "Do you have any favorites?"

"I've always loved the story of Esther." She told him.

"Aye, that is a good one."

~H_E_L_L_S_I_N_G~

Sarah was feeling so happy when she finally returned to Hellsing Manor. This man, Alexander, was the most elegant person she'd ever met. She'd made plans to see him again next week. She could still feel the weight of his arm draped around her shoulder and it was glorious. She went straight to her room and passed Alucard on the stairs. She took the time to pin him with a momentary glare and a suspicious glance at his shoes, which were thankfully clean, then continued on her way without another word. Damnit, she wouldn't let him spoil her mood if she could help it!

Alucard took in a deep breath as she passed, a familiar smell met his nose and a smile grew on his face. "Well, now...isn't that interesting?" He cast a glance up the stairs. "I wonder if she knows what she's gotten herself into?" He said quietly to himself before fading out of sight.

Sarah flopped down her bed and was surprised to find her room empty. She'd expected to find Seras waiting, but the blonde vampire was nowhere to be seen. "Huh, that's strange." She ran a brush quickly through her hair and changed into her pajamas. She was tired and she had training tomorrow. Spilling the beans could wait until another night.

Alexander... She thought of him as she tried to sleep. He had such a solid presence, it felt almost like he were there with her. She fell asleep to that thought, comforted by it like an embrace.

Unbeknownst to her, someone watched her sleep. Alucard stepped forth from the shadows once he was sure that she was deeply asleep. He touched her forehead to brush away a stray lock of hair and immediately he saw the jumbled, dreamy thoughts of his comrade. It was just as he'd suspected, the Judas priest was in her dreams. "Ah, Sarah. You never cease to surprise me." His grin was slowly replaced by a genuine smile. Humans always looked so innocent as they slept. On that final note, he faded back into the darkness. He had work to do.

Meanwhile, Seras was waiting for her former master. They had a mission tonight. Alucard had not yet told her what lay in store for them and she was anxious to know. She suspected that it had something to do with his recent mysterious absences. The darkness in front of her wavered and Alucard walked into plain view. He had no gun in hand. "Seras, leave all weapons behind. This is a reconnaissance mission. We are only to watch and gather information tonight."

"Oh, okay." She replaced her Harkonnen III. "Alucard, before we go anywhere I want to know exactly what this is all about." She planted her feet stubbornly and crossed her arms. "Don't think I haven't noticed you sneaking off."

"All questions you may have will be answered." She sensed him preparing to use his shadows to transport them both. "Now, be quiet and stay alert." Shadow portals, as she called them, were a bit like walking down a very dark hallway while being drenched by freezing water. It was safe to say that it wasn't a pleasant feeling, especially in winter. Of course, no that she was a full-blooded Draculina, she didn't really feel the cold at all except in a rather disconnected way. That is to say, she felt and recognized the temperature difference, but it did not cause her any discomfort. Once they stepped out into the real world again, she recognized the area as the Epsom and Ewell district of Surrey.

"What are we-" Her words were cut off by his hand clamping over her mouth. That was when she saw it.

'It' being the monster that stood twenty feet from where they were. Its front paws were braced against a tombstone and its head was lowered. Seras's eyes widened and her nostrils flared. The smell that had covered Alucard before was radiating from this beast! The thing was roughly wolf-like, but the size of a bear with matted and bristled fur caked with mud. The talons were three inches long and muscles bulged beneath its hide. Seras huddled closer to Alucard. She knew what this thing was, but how?

She heard Alucard's voice in her head. "I had thought these beings extinct, but I was proven wrong by The Captains's appearance. Since the final battle, I discussed the possibility with my Master that their kind persisted. She ordered me to investigate the matter."

"A werewolf..."

"Yes, Seras. Believe it or not, they were once inclined to protect humanity from..well, us and other monsters."

"What? How?"

"A curse. A millenia ago, there was once a young lord who took a fancy to maid in his household. Of course, the affair was ended as soon as he found some other young lady to court and the maid, betrayed by the man she'd thought she loved, went to seek the aid of a witch. The witch refused to grant her wish because she was a pure witch who did only good and healing works. The maid was determined, however, and stole the witch's grimoire. She found a spell which would turn a human into a monster if he refused to do the bidding of the curse's caster. And so, the maid cursed her former lover. Yet, he did not come groveling at her feet as she expected. Instead, he accepted the curse, learned to control it, and used it to protect his lands and those under his subjugation. By accident, he learned that it could be passed on by sharing blood."

"Everything seems to come down to blood."

"The blood is the life." Alucard paused for a moment. The werewolf had still not moved. It was as if he were mourning whoever was buried there. "The lord chose seven nobles to pass on his power in the hopes that they would use it wisely, for while the curse did give them power and an extended life, the bearers would still be mortal. He called them The Order of the Dragon."

"What were their names?"

"Sigismund Baulaur, Mircea, Radu Florescu, Vladislav Moldaur, Bogdan II, Ladislas Dracula, Targsor Snagov, and Mathias Brasnov." He replied.

Seras looked at him. She knew some of those names. "Your grandfather?"

"And my father." He confirmed. "The Order of the Dragon was an honor to our family that was only earned through hardship and loyalty. My elder brother was to be given his own place in it when he was old enough, but he was killed before he could enter. I was only a bastard, so I was immediately dismissed. Enough of my family history, Seras. The Order survived for only a short while before those who were entrusted with it became careless with their chosen heirs. Those gifted with the power began to use it for selfish gain and power. While I was human, I attempted to put a stop to it and up until I saw the Captain, I thought I'd been successful in eliminating them."

"Wow," She thought.

"My people, who knew me for what I was even then and knew the others for what they were, passed down legends that spoke of how werewolves and vampires were now mortal enemies who would not cease their war until one or the other was entirely exterminated, which is quite truthful. Werewolves are connected by blood, as we are, and that blood knows its enemies. Even a werewolf who had not consciously known the history of the curse would still hate you and me, or that the very least be distrustful."

The werewolf suddenly looked up. Its head swung to the left to reveal piercing blue eyes. They were human eyes, not a wolf's. "I can smell you." Said a human voice. It was soft and male. He sounded young. "Leave me alone. I'm not hurting anything."

Alucard stepped forward. "It's true. You have not taken a life since you were given the curse, I would read the murder in your thoughts and memories if you had. For that, I will spare you for now. Show us your true form, wolf." He commanded evenly, his voice calm and flat.

The wolf bobbed its heavy head and slowly the fur receeded, the talons and muscles shrunk. Within a few seconds, a young boy stood in front of them. He was blonde with ocean blue eyes. He was thin and dirty with no clothes to speak of. Seras politely averted her eyes. He shivered with cold and she could hear his teeth chattering. Alucard, in an act that was completely unexpected, took off his trenchcoat and draped it over the boy. "What is your name, child?"

The boy narrowed his eyes at the vampire. "I don't like you."

Alucard chuckled darkly. "Not many people do, but answer my question if you don't desire punishment."

"Elazar." He mumbled. "Now, go away."

"Elazar," Seras said quietly. "Where do you live?"

"Here." He said after a reluctant pause. "It's where my mommy is. I don't got a real house no more."

Seras felt so sad for him and she turned her pleading gaze to Alucard. "Can we keep him?"

"As long as he's house-trained. Sarah will have a conniption fit if he pisses on the carpet." He rolled his eyes, but grabbed the kid by the arm and hauled him to Seras. "Here, he's your pet now."

Seras sighed, but patted Elazar gently. "First thing, we're going to give you a bath!" She exclaimed after her fingers came away smudged with dirt.

"NO!" Elazar pounded at her with his fists and tried to kick her. "I'm staying with mommy! Mommy needs me. Let go!"

"Your mother is dead, now shut up and be a man." Alucard snarled viciously. "Yes, it's hard to accept, but do you think she'd be proud to know that her son is a hooligan and too proud to accept help when it's offered? Would she want that?"

Elazar stopped his squirming and listened. "Do you have chips?" He asked.

"Uh...yeah..." Seras replied cheerfully. "I'm sure we could get you some when we get back. And if we don't have any, then you can come with me and Sarah to the store to buy some."

Elazar put his hand to his mouth. "Well...okay. Can I have sweets, too? I want an Aero bar."

"Sure, you look like you could use it." Seras placated him while Alucard teleported them back to Hellsing. "Oh, I wonder what Sir Integra will think of this?" Seras asked him worriedly.

"CHIPS! I WANT CHIPS! YOU PROMISED ME CHIPS AND SWEETS!" Elazar complained loudly as soon as they walked in the door. "NOW!"

"Hey, who's making all this fuss?" They all looked to the top of the stairs where Sarah stood, tapping her foot irritably. "It's three am!" She raised an eyebrow. "Who's the kid?"

Alucard smiled wickedly. "He's our new pet!" Then he added. "And he's your responsibility."

"Wait, what?" She marched down the stairs. "How come you're unloading him on me, huh?"

"I WANT CHIPS AND CATSUP!"

Sarah glared at Elazar and he immediately quieted down. "Kid, if you don't want to stand in the corner for the next three hours, sit down and shut up." She sighed heavily. "That being said, you look like you need some food, so I'll give you your chips, she waved her hand in front of her nose. "Phew, and a bath, too, but after that you're going straight to bed, got it?" Elazar nodded submissively and didn't say another word.

Seras sat down at the table and watched Sarah take out the bag of frozen chips. "His name is Elazar." She then proceeded to fill Sarah in on what had happened since she and Alucard had left the Manor. Sarah took it all in and didn't seem all that shocked. "Well, I guess I'm going to have to be the one who breaks the news about the puppy here." She jerked her head towards Elazar. "Sir Integra isn't going to like this."

"Yeah, but he doesn't have a home, Sarah. I couldn't just leave him there." Sarah sat the bowl full of chips and catsup in front of Elazar and watched him start to gobble them up.

"Remind me to teach him some table manners, too. Just because he's part dog, doesn't mean he has to eat like one." Sarah said grumpily.

"Wolf, actually."

"Whatever, point is he needs to learn to act decent. If it's my duty to take care of him, then I'm going to make sure he's raised right." She said in a firm tone. She stared at him. "Hey, pup, how old are you?"

"Eight." He said between bites. "I'm turning nine next month, though. Can I have dessert?"

"I dunno. Can you?" She replied. "Pup, when you want to ask for something, you say 'May I'. Alright?"

"Yeah, okay. May I have dessert?"

"Sure." She got up, taking the empty bowl with her. She washed it out and handed him a candy bar, which he ate with gusto. "Bath time." She announced.

"I don't wanna!" He whined.

"Too bad, you stink to high Heaven." She took by the hand and led him down the hall, with Seras close behind. They closed the bathroom door and Sarah began to run a bath for him. "Okay, you little stinker," Sarah handed him a shower pouf, a bar of soap, and shampoo. "Hop to it." She pulled the shower curtain closed behind him after he climbed it. "And I'm going to sit right here until you're cleaner than a cat's whiskers." She took a seat on the counter and turned to Seras.

"She'll let us keep him, I know it. She'll just make big fuss over it before she gives in." She said confidently. "I just want you to know, though, that you're going to be helping me with him." Once Elazar was clean, Seras wrapped him in a towel while Sarah went in search of something he could wear. She found a rather large shirt of her own that would serve as a nightgown. Then she grabbed one of her old tank tops and a pair of shorts that would fit him. It was a bit baggy, but until she went to the store, that was as good as it got.

"You're sleeping in my room, pup, so that we can make sure you won't run away." Sarah said as she pulled some bedding out of the closet. "Seras, could you get that mattress from the other room and put it in here for me?"

"Yeah, sure." Seras easily took care of it. Sarah gave the boy a pillow and tucked him in. Within minutes, he was sound asleep.

Sarah smirked down at him. "You know, he's not half-bad." She sighed and glanced at the clock. It was already four thirty, so she might as well stay up. Seras sat down beside her friend on the bed. "I hope he likes it here."

~H_E_L_L_S_I_N_G~

Sir Integra pinched the bridge of her nose. "This is a secret Organization, not an orphanage." She said sharply.

"But he could help!" Sarah insisted. "He's a werewolf, we could raise him and teach him how to fight. He'd be a great asset to us, you know that. I know you know that. I'll bet he's great at tracking, probably almost as good as Alucard. I don't know much about his natural abilities, you'd have to ask Alucard that, but I know that he'll do us a good turn."

Integra made a steeple with her hands. "You're serious? You actually want him to stay here? If we keep him, then you would be held responsible for everything that he does, that's inclusive of murder."

Sarah stood up straight, her head held high. "Yes, I want him. I'd be willing to adopt the pup and I understand the consequences of that."

Integra's eyes narrowed, then she nodded. "Fine. I will allow him to live here with you. I will set up the adoption papers and the rest of the paperwork. Understand that because he is a child does not mean he exempt from earning his place here. He is my servant now as well, and I want you to start his training now. After all, they learn better when they're young."

"Yes, ma'am." Sarah turned to leave.

"Oh, and Sarah?" She stopped to look at Sir Integra. "Make sure that he likes it here. He's more likely to want to stay if he does."

Sarah smiled to herself. Sir Integra was such a softie, really, behind that cold and uncaring demeanor. She'd misjudged her before and now she was regretting that. She hurried off to check on her ward. He'd get sick if he slept in too late.

Elazar was already up when she came back. He was in his wolf form and as she approached, his tail wagged. "Good morning, puppy." She patted him and he licked her fingers. "Glad to know you're awake. Hey, I know it's not your birthday, but I've got something for you." His ears flicked forward with interest and his tail wagged a bit more excitedly.

She rummaged through her jewelry box and brought out what she'd been working on with Seras last night before working up the courage to notify Sir Integra. It was a strip of leather with a buckle. It was decorated with a series of metal studs. She'd taken the time to stamp it, too. The picture was a little swirl that was present between each of the studs. "Do you like it? It's so we can tell you apart from other Werewolves."

"A collar?"

"Relax," She slipped around his neck. "It's not like we're going to put you on a leash or anything. Besides, this looks pretty cool, don't you think?"

"Yeah, okay." He stood still while she buckled it on. "What's your name?" He asked, settling back into his bed.

"Sarah. I already know yours." She said with a smile.

"You remind me of my mommy, Sarah. She used to make me take baths, too. Even when I didn't want to." She laughed, but stopped when she saw the look in his eyes.

"Tell me about your mommy, Elazar." She sat down beside him. "What happened to her?"

"She was really nice. She had long black hair and a pretty laugh. She worked a lot, but then she started to get really tired. One day, she came home with this funny hat on her head and she had bruises under her eyes. She wouldn't let me take off the funny hat, even though I didn't like it. She kept it on even when she was asleep. I hated that hat so much, so I pulled it off one night when she was asleep. She was bald, but I didn't care. When she woke up, I told her that I didn't care. Even if she didn't have her hair anymore, I still thought she was the most beautiful mommy in the world. Then, one day, I came home from school and I found her on the couch. She wasn't breathing, so I called our neighbors." He covered his eyes with his paws and made a pathetic little whining sound. "I was scared, so I ran away."

"Was your mommy like you?"

"Yeah. When I was five, she cut our hands and pressed them together. She told me that she wanted to share the magic with me. She said that we were this way because God had meant for us to take care of people. She said that we could protect people from getting hurt or hurting each other. She loved God and we went to church every Sunday. It was nice there, but I didn't like the suit she made me wear. It was itchy and hot!" He looked at her. His eyes were shiny and filled with a childish unwavering devotion. "I'll protect you, Sarah, I promise."

She almost lost it, but for the sake of her little pup, she composed herself. "Thanks, I'll take protect you, too." She hugged him tightly. "Now, come with me, it's breakfast time."

"May we have eggs?"

"Whatever you want." She said brightly. "Toast and bacon, too, if you want." He raced ahead of her eagerly and trotted down the stairs, where he sat wagging his tail. He gave a little wolf.

"Come on, Sarah! Hurry up! I'm hungry! Please!" He jumped up and down excitedly. "Sarah, Sarah, Sarah!"

"Hold your horses, I'm coming." She put a finger to her lips. "Quiet down, please. Oh, and you can't hold a fork if you have paws." He whined, but she stood firm and he changed back into his human self. His hair was mussed and hung down over one eye, he grinned at her. "That's better." She cracked the eggs into the pan while he watched. She picked him up and set him on the counter. "Sit and stay." She said. "So, pup, how do you feel about blueberry jam?"

"I love it!"

"Good, because it's the only thing we have left as far as spreads go." She frowned. "I'm going to need to buy some more already. I think the other soldiers come in here and raid the fridge because I just bought a bunch of stuff last week!" She glanced at him. He was playfully swinging his feet and keeping a hungry eye on the eggs. "Hm, you need some real clothes, too. I guess we'll just have to go today." She shrugged.

"Yay! Would you please buy me an Aero bar, too?"

She smiled. "Well, okay, but you have to promise that you'll wait until after dinner to eat it."

"No problem!" He said, then pointed at the pan. "The eggs are done."

"You like them sunny-side up? Alright, I can dig it." She slid them out onto two plates. Then she put in the bacon and put the bread in the toaster. "It's a good thing I like to cook." She said to him. "Because you look like a kid with a huge appetite."

"You bet!" He giggled. "I'll eat everything on my plate."

"I don't doubt that." She said and spread the jam over the warm toast. She handed it to him to keep him busy while she finished cooking the bacon. "When we're done, I want to go upstairs and put on that tanktop and shorts I have laid out for you."

"But that shirt is pink!" He grimaced. "And the shorts are yellow. They clash!"

"Oh, goodness. Somebody help me, I'm raising a fashionista. Who do you think you are, Paris Hilton's toy poodle?" She lamented, but laughed when he playfully stuck out his tongue at her. "I dunno, though. You might look good in an extra-large doggie sweater..." She jokingly threatened.

"Yuck." He gave an exaggerated shudder. "No way!"

After breakfast, the two of them cleaned up and drove to the supermarket. Sarah found a bunch of outfits that he really liked. Most of them were jeans and button-down shirts with pictures of superheros, but he also picked out a navy blue winter coat and matching Wellies. As they were checking out, she heard someone call her name.

"Hello again, Sarah." She turned around to see Alexander. He had a shopping cart full of toys, which she presumed were Christmas gifts for the children at the orphanage. "And who's this chipper young lad?"

"My name's Elazar!"

Alexander kneeled down to look him in the eye. "Oh, is it? A fine name for a strapping lad such as yerself. Do you know what it means?" Elazar shook his head. "It means God helps and that's the Gospel truth, lad. Remember that." He stood up. "Would you like to come with me? I was thinking of having a stroll downtown for a bit to have a look-see at the decorations."

Elazar turned pleading eyes to Sarah. "Can we, pretty please?"

"How could I refuse?" Sarah finished checking out and waited for Alexander to do the same.

"It's nice to see you again, my dear." Alexander smiled broadly at her. "Are we still on for next Tuesday?"

"Yes, of course." She loaded her groceries into her trunk, shut, and locked it up. "How far do you want to walk?"

"Oh, it doesn't really matter, a few blocks perhaps?" He suggested. They left the parking lot and Elazar was obviously having the time of his life. He walked around staring at everything and taking it all in. He even played around in a snowdrift for a while, much to both Alexander and Sarah's amusement.

"Is he yours?" Alexander asked as they watched.

"No, well, yes, but no. I adopted him." She sweatdropped. "Yesterday, actually."

"I see," He nodded. "He did look a bit old to be your biological son."

"Yeah, my friend found him in a graveyard."

He looked alarmed. "A graveyard?! What would a wee thing like him be doing there?"

"His mom was buried there, I think." He shot a sympathetic look at Elazar. "From what he told me, I think she had some kind of terminal illness. Cancer, maybe."

"Och, the poor lad." He shook his head sadly. "Bless his soul."

Elazar ran up to them both and handed them an icicle each. "Don't you think these are really pretty? They make a rainbow!"

"Aye, beautiful."

"Yeah, I'll say." Sarah said. "Thank you so much for showing us."

Elazar grinned out of sheer delight. "I'll go get some more for you guys!"

"He's certainly taken a real shine to you." Alexander noted.

"He likes you, too." She said. "Can I bring him with us on Tuesday?"

"Of course!" He was about to say something else when he was cut off by the ringing of his cell phone. He gave her apologetic look, then flipped it open. "Hello?" He listened for a minute. An intense frown grew on his face. "Yes. Right, I understand. Yes, goodbye." He pocketed the phone. "I'm afraid that I must cancel our meeting on Tuesday. I must return to Italy immediately, something has come up. I hope you understand."

She nodded, a little disappointed. "When will you be back?"

"As soon as I can, I promise." He had an indecipherable expression on his face. "Please, take care of yourself and Elazar while I'm gone. I'll call you as soon as I come back." He stepped a bit closer. "And...until we meet again..." He hugged her close to him. She tucked her face into his chest.

"EW!" They broke apart to see Elazar staring at them, looking completely grossed out. "Hey, don't you try getting jiggy with Sarah! You're nice, but I'll kick you in the bollocks!" Sarah snickered, while Alexander appeared dumbfounded. He quickly recovered, however his cheeks were stained with pink.

"I see you have quite the protector here." He said, laughing.

"He's never done that before, honest!" Sarah could barely contain herself. "And where did you learn about 'getting jiggy'?" She stopped him before he could answer. "Don't answer that, never mind. I don't even want to know." She was blushing harder than Alexander was and laughing harder, too. "Well, on _that_ interesting note, I'll say goodbye."

"Goodbye, Sarah." He bent to kiss her hand.

"HEY, I WARNED YOU!"


	4. Chapter 4

Elazar was very energetic, much to Sir Integra's dismay. He got into absolutely everything and asked loads of questions all the time. Whenever Alucard was around, he would immediately transform into his wolf body and softly growl at him if the No-Life King so much as made a move in Sarah's direction. Of course, this didn't faze the ancient vampire. Quite the opposite, really. He admired the spunk the kid displayed and even offered to train him himself. Elazar, though, didn't seem to have any such quelms about Seras. She often played with him for a few minutes before he and Sarah went to bed.

The mattress in Sarah's room had become redundent as the pup would insist on climbing into bed with her at night. She allowed it for a while, but decided that he was too old to display that sort of behavior. She knew now that he wasn't likely to run away, so she prepared his own bedroom across the hall. All in all, the little wolf-boy was a marvelous addition to the household. And even though he'd only been with them for a few short weeks he'd managed to thoroughly wrap all three Hellsing females around his pinky finger.

Yet, Sarah was feeling lonesome despite her deep affection for her adopted son. She longed to have Alexander there with her. She would sit in a trance when she had her time alone and look at the rosary he'd given her. She held it close to her heart as one of her most treasured possessions in life. There were times when she pretended to be wrapped up in his arms. For weeks, she waited and waited. Nearly a month had gone by with no word on his return. Sadly, she believed he'd forgotten about her. After all, what did a few meetings with a girl half his age mean to a person like him?

That is, until the day her phone rang. She opened it, unsuspecting. "Hello, my dear."

In one moment, her breath was stolen away. "H-hi, Alex."

"I've missed you ever so much. I'm on my way over to London now. I wish I could have spoken to you over the time I've been gone, but discreetness is part of my employment. Would you be interested in meeting me tomorrow morning? I want to see you as soon as humanly possible. I have something for you."

Her heart nearly stopped. She had forgotten about Christmas! She checked the date quickly. It was the 20th already? "Yes, what time?"

"As early as you can make it."

"8 am, then. Same place as before?"

"Yes. Sarah, if you wouldn't mind I'd like you to leave Elazar behind. I have a surprise for him, too, but it isn't wrapped yet and I wouldn't want to spoil it for him." He said gently.

"Right."

"Also, I'd like to ask you if you would like to spend Christmas with me. That would be such a blessing. Elazar, too, of course."

"Yes, yes! I'd love to!" She blurted out, much to her chagrin. Way to be obvious, Sarah.

"Wonderful, I'm looking forward to it. I'm afraid I have to bid you goodbye now, my plane is about to board." She heard noises in the background, people talking and static crackling.

"Goodbye, Alex."

"Oh, before I go, 0ne last thing-"

"Yes?"

"Think of me tonight." Well, that was easy, she couldn't get him out of her mind since she'd met him. "Because I will most certainly be thinking of you. Goodbye, Sarah." The phone clicked off and she was filled with a sort of burning feeling that started in her stomach and rose up to take residence in her heart, which was beating madly.

She sat there, phone in hand. "Man, he's good!" She couldn't be that smooth if she tried. She sighed. "God help me, I think I'm going insane..."

"Going? I'd say you are already gone." She let out a yelp of surprise, which made her tormentor laugh. Alucard had taken up, rather obnoxiously, a seat on her bed. "Who was that on the phone?" He asked with faux innocence. "Was it your precious Alexander?"

Her cheeks burned and she grumbled. "None of your business, that's who."

"Oh, so it was." He smiled, a devilish gleam in his eyes. "Sarah, Sarah, Sarah...you are such a treat." He took the liberty of reclining on her bed, crossing his legs and bobbed his booted foot in the air. "I must say though, your Alexander is quite a lucky man." She looked at him, disconcerted by this uncharacteristic behavior. "Oh, don't look so put off. I can be courteous when I so desire."

"Can you actually stand to be around me for longer than five minutes without insulting me? Huh, your willpower must be reaching its limit."

"You know as well as I do that I merely jest with you." He responded, a little snappishly. He sighed and a smile returned to his face. "Actually, I didn't come here for games. I came to seek advice."

"Advice? You?" She scoffed. "What does the Great and Mighty Alucard need advice from me for?"

He awkwardly sat up. "You spend a lot of time with Seras, do you not?" He asked bluntly. "What does she like?"

Sarah shook her head in bewilderment, holding her hands out in front of her. "Hey, hold on. Stop right there." She took a deep breath. "Okay, so allow me to ask exactly what the actual _fuck_ is going on around here?"

"Well, you see, when a male vampire and a female vampire really like each other-"

She put her hand over his mouth. "Stop talking or I will rip your lips off. I really would prefer not knowing what goes on in your sex life." She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I can't believe this..."

"Start believing."

She put her head in her hands, she spoke into them and her words were muffled slightly. "Baby's Breath, Aquamarine, Steven Speilburg, Robert Patterson, swimming, Sting, Neil Patrick Harris, periodot, the smell of apple pie, and fuzzy stuffed animals."

"Pardon?"

"Those are her favorite kinds of flowers, her favorite color, her favorite film director, her favorite author, her favorite activity, her favorite singer, her favorite actor, her favorite gemstone, her favorite smell, and her favorite items to cuddle with. I hope that gives you something to work with." She said dully. "Beyond that, use your own creativity." She turned so that she could see him better. "Please tell me you're serious about this? About her?"

He looked her in the eye. "I do not pursue that which means nothing to me."

She frowned, but nodded. "I'll hold you to that. But," She held up a finger. "If you hurt her, I don't care where you run or what I have to do, I will find you and I will kill you until you're dead. I will literally shove my boot so far up your ass that you'll choke on it. And then I'll grind you up and feed you to wild parrots. When they shit you out, I'll turn that into fertilizer for my vegetable garden."

He grinned before sinking right through her bed. "THIS IS WHY I LIKE YOU! AHAAHAHAHAHA!"

"Crazy bastard." She rolled her eyes. "Oh, Seras, I am _so_ sorry. A sadistic vampire like that must literally have a satanic libido." She chuckled to herself. It was only then that she realized that she had forgotten to go Christmas shopping. "Oh, damn." She grabbed warm clothing and ran out the door in a hurry.

~H_E_L_L_S_I_N_G~

Sarah surveyed the bags that she had packed. She wondered if she'd forgotten anything. Seras watched her anxiously from her bed. "Don't you think it's a bit too soon to be spending the night with this guy?"

"It's alright," Sarah assured her. "He's not that type of man and even if that was what he wanted, I highly doubt he'd want Elazar there."

This allowed Seras to relax a little. "I was just worried that he's too good to be true."

Sarah didn't want to confess that she'd had her own doubts. Where would she get if she didn't trust anyone? "He's a bit secretive." She admitted reluctantly. "I've told him a lot about me." Seras pinned her with a pointed look. "Not about Hellsing! I told him I'm in the military."

"Nice save." Seras replied dryly. "So what _do_ you know about him?"

"Well, he likes to read, he enjoys travelling," She ticked them off on her fingers. "He has good taste in just about everything, and he's got very strong morals. Plus, he loves kids and he's really kind. He's the most gentle man I've ever met."

Seras pretended to be grossed out over her friend's lovey-dovey expression. "Bloody Hell, you've got it bad!"

Sarah laughed. "I know, but I can't help it. It's really strange how these things can really overwhelm a person; love, infatuation, and lust. It's never happened to me before."

"Somehow I doubt that. Everyone's had a crush or two."

Sarah shrugged. "Well, I guess I kind of liked a couple of guys when I was younger, but I have never felt something this strong for anyone else." She bit her lip. "Seras, I'm worried about what he's keeping from me."

"Sarah, you have a right to be worried about the things he's holding back." Seras advised sagely. "Right now, it's a bit early for it to be a big concern, but you have to trust that he'll come to you about it when he's ready."

"You can always make me feel better."

"So what did you get him?" She asked, pointing to the package on the floor beside the bed.

"The latest ediction of the NJB bound in leather and embossed in gold." She answered proudly. It had taken up two months of savings, but the sacrifice was more than worth it.

Seras looked at her with surprise. "Wow, you think he'll like it?"

"He'll love it. Which reminds me," She dug through her nightstand drawer and pulled out a little black elongated box. "This is for you. Sorry that I didn't have time to wrap this one." Seras's eyes grew big as she opened it. "I saw you staring at it through the window of that jewelry store and I knew it was meant for you."

"Thank you, it's beautiful." Seras breathed. "Help me put it on?"

Sarah slipped the delicate thing around her neck and fastened the clasp. "I'll be leaving for Alexander's in a few minutes. Could you give Alucard and Integra their gifts? I have to go find Elazar."She handed her the two presents and left the room, calling for him.

Seras wondered what in the world Sarah could have picked out for Alucard. It was obvious which was whose. Alucard's was wrapped in blood-red paper while Sir Integra's navy blue done up with a light blue bow. She decided to deliver Alucard's first just to get it over with.

She phased down to the basement and stood outside his dungeon door. After she plucked up the courage, she was unnerved by the eerie creak the door made when she opened it. "Alucard?" He was sitting motionlessly on his chair in the middle of the nearly bare room while he watched the news. "This is from Sarah." She approached and handed him the gift.

He looked it over shrewdly before tearing the paper neatly open. He reached inside and pulled out a tightly rolled sheet of canvas. He shook it out and a pleased smile crossed his face. Seras snuck a curious peek at the painting. She recognized Sarah's signiture on the bottom, meaning that she'd painted it herself. It depicted Alucard in his customary red trenchcoat and fedora. His hair was long and straight, nearly brushing his shoulders. The moon behind him was tinted with red. His lips were drawn in a mockingly playful sneer to show his fangs. Beside him stood Seras herself, waving and smiling while he held on tightly to her shoulder. "How touching." He said. "I'll have it framed."

Seras was in shock that he hadn't shredded it. "Huh?"

"Did you expect me to hang it on the refridgerator?" He re-rolled it and carefully replaced it in the box beside his chair.

Seras went to leave. "I'll just go give Sir Integra her gift, then..." She was stopped by his hand on her arm. "Sir?"

"I have my own gift to give you, in the spirit of the season." He pulled out a Santa hat and put on her head.

"Um, that's nice, thank you." She was feeling oddly cornered. "I'll go now-"

"Not so fast, my Master can wait." He grinned. "All of this gift-giving has made me rather festively horny." He stepped closer. "Happy Christmas to me~"

While Alucard was getting his jingle rocks off, Sarah had arrived with Elazar in tow at Alexander's apartment. He greeted them both warmly. "Would you like a cup of hot chocolate?" He generously offered.

"That would be great, thanks." She helped Elazar out of his coat. "I'll be right back, I'm going to get our suitcases."

The evening was wonderful for all three of them. They played a few games with Elazar, then had a dinner that Alexander had made. Elazar sat by the tree reading a small chapter book. Alexander and Sarah exchanged gifts. She was right about her choice for him. He was ecstatic when he saw the Bible and thanked her profusely. His gift to her came in two parts; the first was a handcarved teak jewelry box, the second part was what was nestled inside. Sarah smiled appreciatively when she saw the little nest of Kinder eggs. Kinder chocolate was something she'd not had the pleasure of partaking in since she'd left Germany.

Soon, it was time for Elazar to go to bed and once he was tucked in, Alexander led Sarah back to their seats in front of the tree."Sarah, you have come to mean so much to me in such a short time." He cupped her face in his hands. "Do you feel the same?"

Her heart pounded wildly in her chest. "Yes, I do." Her answer came out breathy.

He leaned forward. "Then may I-" Her kiss cut hiim off and he made a small noise of surprise. His eyes closed and his hand went up to brace the back of her head while the other went to the small of her back.

His ever-present stubble rubbed her cheek, but it wasn't unpleasant. The kiss was chaste,but there was more meaning and passion behind it than one would expect. He was a man of control and will who inspired in her the greatest fire she'd ever known. She pulled back, her eyes dilated. They said nothing for a while and simply stood there holding each other close.

~H_E_L_L_S_I_N_G~

The next morning, the pair were awoken by Elazar, who was extremely excited to see what Santa had broughtfor him. To his utter delight, he recieved a stocking full of Aero bar, oranges, and a hollow chocolate Santa. Under the tree he discovered a puzzle book, a matchbox car, and a container of silly putty.

Sarah made breakfast for the three of them. Alexander watched her while he sipped a cup of black coffee. "Elazar, food's ready." She called. He'd been deeply involved in figuring out one of the many puzzles in his book.

"This looks delicious. "Alexander complimented when she gave him his plate. "So what are we doing today?"

"I want to go play in the snow!" Elazar said enthusiastically. "Please?" After breakfast, they drove to the park where Elazar eagerly dove into the glittering white piles. He managed to lure them into making snow angels with him. Then, he started a snowball fight that Sarah won. Finally, they helped him build a fort which he christened Camp Elazar.

As it neared the end of the day, it was regretfully time to say goodbye. Everyone felt like the hours had flown by in a blur. Sarah wanted to stay, but she would be needed to clean up after Sir Integra's traditional holiday party tonight. Elazar was sad to leave as well, but for an entirely different reason. He would be starting school soon and he wanted to put it off for by staying with his new friend. Sarah almost had to force him into the care. She and Alexander said their goodbyes and she returned home to Hellsing Manor...to find it in complete and utter chaos.

Over the years, the manor had been subject to much abuse; invading armies of ghouls, rogue vampires, cultists, political debates, termites, Alucard's temper, etc. In any case, these were nothing compared to what Sarah came home to.

According to Alucard, whom she met as she walked in the front door, the party had started earlier that evening. Sir Integra had held hopes that starting earlier had meant it would end earlier as well. However, this was not what happened. She had no idea of how badly downhill everything had gone because she'd sequestered herself away in her office after the required meet and greet. Suffice to say, everything was quite thoroughly fucked up.

The Wild Geese and their leader, who now considered themselves to be permanent additions to the Hellsing Organization, had definitely had a rather substantial part in the whole thing. It seems Pip rather unwisely challanged Alucard to a drink-off. Convinced he would impress his mignotte, he started off strongly, but ended up making a general fool of himself and passing out under the table. Determined not to let their leader be outdone, the other members of the Wild Geese challanged Alucard and, one by one, became drunk as lords. Of course, there were lords already there who were even drunker.

Lord Penwood, for example, had gotten up on the table to do the Hokey Pokey, butwhen he tried to 'shake it all about', he fell face-first into the egg-nog , someone pulled him out before he could drown. During this commotion, someone thought it would be funny to use the ice sculptures to play 'king of the mountain'. One can imagine how_ that_ turned out. Ice pieces were now scattered all over the floor, which made it all the more trecherous to the unwary drunkard. Now, one would think that this would be enough for anyone, but no! No, these people, these drunk ASANINE idiots with lots of money, had taken it upon themselves to start a food fight. Alucard could not tell her what had happened after the first spoonful of holiday pudding was thrown because he'd left to avoid getting splattered with foodstuffs.

Sarah could feel her blood pressure rising as she stomped past her laughing colleague with murder in her eyes. She burst into the ballroom, only to step directly in a puddle of sick. A vein throbbed violently in her forehead. "Are you alright?" Elazar asked out of concern.

"I'm...just...peachy." She growled behind gritted teeth. She felt like she might pop a blood vessal at any moment. "Or, at least, I will be once I murderize someone." Her eye twitched as she took in the sight of food flying everywhere, some of it even getting stuck to the ceiling. How the hell was she supposed to reach that?! For gooness sakes, she felt unsteady on a freaking stepstool and she'd need a ladder to reach that! "Go find Sir Integra for me, please." Elazar didn't need to be told twice. He sure was glad he wasn't those blokes, he thought as he ran to Sir Integra's office.

Sarah picked her way through the obnoxious party-goers over to the podium. She tapped at the mic. "Attention, all you shit-faced lords, ladies, and otherwise!" The room went silent. "If you'd rather leave with your faces intact, then I suggest you pull your pissed selves together and get the fuck outta here. I got shit to do!" There was a mad rush for the doors. Everyone except for the Hellsing staff quickly exited the building. Sarah glared at them all and handed the few concious Geese mops and brooms. "Clean up this mess." She snarled.

She tookit upon herself to gather each and every bit of litter, junk, and other detritus that she could find and loaded it into the furnace. To soothe herself, she watched it all burn. When she was calmer, she returned to help clean up the less palatable messes. This included those who had passed out. Hours later, after making sure that the ballroom now shone with impeccable cleanliness and that every drunk had made it home safely, she was nearly too tired to stand. Covered in party gunk and badly in need of a shower, she forced herself to march right up to Sir Integra. "Now, I know that it's my job, but there was absolutely no reason for what went on in there." She said bravely. "If you'd stuck around, then they would've been too scared to act up. You're lucky they didn't burn this place down!" As soon as she finished her rant, she realized the implications of it, but she wasn't about to apologize. Especially after all of the vomit!

Instead of yelling at her however, Sir Integra spoke firmly. "As head of this household, I will do whatever I see fit." She lit a cigar. "However, I do admit that the party did get out of hand and you are right that I could have controlled it. Thank you for taking care of it, Ms. Seiger. I hope you had a happy Christmas, goodnight."

"Well," Sarah stared after her boss. "That went differently that I expected." She noticed one of the drunk Geese had passed out upright leaning on a mop. "Damn Geese." She kicked the mop out from under him. " Go to bed." She ordered shortly.

The next day nearly every single person in the Manor felt the effects of a terrible hangover. Seras and Sarah, Elazar's help, tended to them accordingly. Sarah asked where Seras had been during the party, to which Seras did not respond. Every time she was asked, her cheeks would go beet-red and she'd flee in the opposite direction. Sarah began to suspect that Alucard and Seras were doing something together, but decided it was best she keep her nose out of it.

~H_E_L_L_S_I_N_G~

During the weeks following Christmas, Sarah and the others began to notice that Sir Integra had been sending her men out increasingly often. Over a span of two and a half weeks alone she'd given them over twenty missions. Sarah, Seras, nor even Alucard were called out, so they presumed it wasn't anything serious. In fact, when Sir Integra called the three of them to be debriefed on the situation they all expected something relatively minor to be the cause of the problem.

Sir Integra held herself ramrod straight as she addressed them. "I have called you three here to personally inform you of a potential threat to the entire human race." Seras and Sarah glanced at each other in shock. "The threat is being posed by an underground cult known as The Black Crow Society." She turned on the monitor behind her. It displayed a symbol, the sillouhette of a crow mid-flight on a red background outlined by a circle. "I understand that in the past such manical groups have posed little to no threat, yet you must know that these people are nothing to be trifled with." On the monitor, the symbol was replaced an image of a gruesome looking book. "This is the only known picture of the 'true' Necronomicon. Bound in human skin, written in blood, it contains hundreds of thousands of spells designed solely to bring misery and destruction to mankind. It was supposed to be merely a myth. Despite the thousands of copies we have confiscated over the years from various 'Satanic' groups, we have never found anything other than fakes." She allowed a moment for this to sink in, then continued on. "However, I assure you that this one is all too real. I instructed several of my best men to go deep undercover as newly inducted members into this cult. Each one was equipped with a video camera and after sifting through several hours of footage, I came across this." She pressed play on the video.

At first, only chanting was heard along with some heavy breathing. Soon, the point of view was adjusted and they could tell by various dark shapes that the setting was a forested area at night. A circle of worshipers draped in black robes prayed and chanted with their hands folded with the tips of their fingers pointed downward. They stood in a circle around a number of cryptic symbols. The crowd parted as a shrill scream cut the air. A person in red robes trimmed with gold dragged a young boy into the circle and held him down. He held up a knife, the blade flashed and reflected the candlelight, then he brought it down to quickly slit the boys throat. The dying child clutched at his wound and gurgled in a groteque manner before finally slumping to the ground. His blood slowly pooled around him, mixing into the symbols drawn in the dirt.

The chanting's volume escalated until every participant was nearly screaming, but still nothing happened. Then, the blood began to creep along the ground and back to the body of the boy. The blood returned, every single drop, and the cut must have sealed itself because there was no sign of it when the boy slowly stood up. He appeared normal with the exception of completely black eyes. There was no iris, pupil nor sclera to speak of. It was all black. The video ended abruptly at this point and Sir Integra continued. "All around Europe there have been sightings of these black-eyed children. They ask to be let into homes or vehicles, but thankfully we know of no incidents where their intended victims have succumbed to this request." She narrowed her eyes. "I have no certain evidence of what these things may be, but they are definitely no longer children and there should be no hesitation."

Sarah, who was especially horrified by this, spoke up. "I volunteer to do research for you, Sir Integra."

"Excuse me?"

"Clearly you do not have enough information to make a definitive strike against them. There are too many questions. What are they? How, if we can, can we kill them? How can we stop more of them from being created? I believe that I can get these answers for you, Sir. Please, at least let me try." Her hands fisted at her sides. "I want to do this because of those children and because of the pain that their parents must be feeling."

"It's not wise to become emotionally involved in a case." Sir Integra remarked sternly. "However, I'm going to give you a chance to prove yourself." She sighed and adjusted her glasses. "I think it's time you had a bit of room to stretch your new abilities. Yes, research I can allow, but I am ordering you to follow through with the rest of the mission as well. Seras Victoria will assist you, as will the Wild Geese as they've been straining at the bit as of late. Good luck and report to me your findings at the end of this month! Dismissed!" Sarah and Seras saluted before leaving.

Alucard, however, stuck around. "Master, are you trying to kill her? You know as well as I that she's not fit for something like this."

"Be that as it may, servant, she must do this. Better men than her have died on their first missions, but I have a feeling that she's going to be very hard to kill." Sir Integra lit up a cuban. "Alucard, did you know that Walter spoke to me today?"

"What did the Shinigami have to say?"

"He apologized. His body has settled out, it seems that he's going to be stuck with a younger body." She blew a ring of smoke. "A..much..younger body. He's practically a baby." She eyed him. "I'm putting you on babysitting duty."

"Do I get to spank him?" He asked hopefully.

"No!"

That night, Sarah couldn't sleep. She forced herself to scour the immense collection of Occult information stored in the Hellsing library. After that yeilded no definable results, she turned to the internet. Surprisingly, there was recent talk of experiences with the black-eyed kids posted all over forums and scary story sites. The next few days were hell as she only stopped hunting for meals and to wake Elazar for school.

A week after Sarah had secreted herself in her room, Seras ventured to knock on her door. She was worried for her. She had lifted her hand to knock when the door flew open and she saw Sarah there standing in the doorway dressed only in pajama pants and a tanktop holding a thin stack of papers in her hand. Sarah appeared haggard, but there was a certain satisfied air surrounding her. She hurried her friend inside. "These are the exact locations where several hundred encounters happened." She explained. "It took a lot of digging and little bit of hacking, thank God I took that class, anyway I need you to look at this!" She pointed to a pin-up map of Europe that was covered in several hundred red dots. In one place there was a large cluster where dots nearly overlapped each other. "There, in Ireland, I suspect that is where the rituals are happening." She circled it in red sharpie. "We need to go there!"

"Um...Sarah...are you ok?"

"Fine, I'm just fine." Sarah muttered as she searched through the mess of papers on her desk. The mess was a bad sign, Sarah was at all times very neat and careful with everything, but she was flustered now. "I know what these things are, Seras!" She smiled triumphantly. "I know what they are and I know how to kill them!"

"Oh, really?" Seras was intreagued, but fearful for her friend's sanity.

"Yes, they're something called a Lamia- a type of vampire. They're demons that feed specifically on children's blood, but are a relatively minor class of demons. They can only possess the freshly dead body of a child. They've often gotten confused with true vampires and it's easy to see why. Unlike a real vampire though, these demons can't keep the body they've possessed from eventually decaying, so they need to switch bodies quite often." She read her through her notes. "Also, they've got several weaknesses that have been mistakenly attributed to real vampires. For instance, they can't cross moving bodies of water and they can be severely burned or warded off by garlic and sage."

"How do we kill them, though?"

"Well, there's two different methods. One, the possessing demon can be exorcised from the dead body. The demon cannot exist in our world for long without a host, so it is almost immediately destroyed. Two, you have to re-create the exact wound that killed the original owner of the body. Thankfully, I think that the Black Crows have a uniform method of killing; cutting the jugular. So that should be pretty helpful, I think." Seras was about to speak again, but Sarah held up her hand. "One more thing, these demons are extremely cocky. In other words, they see humans as nothing more than beasts for the slaughter. Knowing this, I do not think that the Black Crows are the ones controlling as much as they are the ones _being_ controlled. These demons would see no problem using humans as tools. I think that they may be out to conqure the human race and make us slaves, maybe bring about Armageddon, shit like that."

"Oh, I see..." Seras pondered this theory. "Have you gone to Sir Integra yet?"

"No, but I was about to before you showed up." She sighed tiredly and slumped down in her computer seat. "Damn, this is almost too much."

"I still can't believe you found all of this out in just a week." Seras sat down beside her. "That's incredible."

Sarah smiled weakly. "The internet is just as scary as it is fascinating and informative."


	5. Chapter 5

The water was eerily calm as the Paladin made his way down to the edge of the river. A dark shadow darted by an upraised rock in the riverbed, was it his prey? He tightly clutched one of his bayonets in his hand. "Come out, ye foul unholy monster." He said to the river. "I know yer there." He was hunting a dobhar-chu, a water hound. It was a terrible beast with small eyes on each side of its flat head and a wide mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth. As he spoke, there was a great splash and he was hit with a wave of water as the thing rose up from the riverbed with its fangs bared. He waded in to his waist and slashed at the tough scaly hide. "Die!" It wouldn't work as the skin was too tough. He scrambled out of the water and onto the bank to think of a new plan. He would aim for the mouth. He threw his bayonet with great accuracy and stabbed the thing through its fleshy palate. The corpse wriggled a little before collapsing. "Well," He observed his clothes, soaked with water and blood. "That was a wee bit messy, eh?"

Father Anderson had been called to Ireland because of the dobhar-chu, but he was eager to get back to England. He had not spoken with Sarah for the longest time. He ignored the stares he recieved as he walked back to town to his hotel. Almost as soon as he came in the door, his phone began to vibrate. Father Renaldo had taken up the position as temporary head of Section XIII and it was he who was calling. "Hello, Father Anderson, I trust you've completed your task?" Anderson confirmed that he had. "Good, but I'm afraid that I must ask you to stay in Ireland for a while longer. We have a situation on our hands."

"Oh? What sort of situation?"

~H_E_L_L_S_I_N_G~

Sarah continued to do more research on the lamia while she also worked harder than ever at the second stage of her training. Her aim was gradually getting better and her reflexes were certainly faster than they had been. She could now easily hold her own against several men at once, and she even beat Pip once or twice. Although she'd technically been finished with her formal training a while back, she'd wanted to get even better on her own. She asked Seras to fight her, but Seras refused. That was fine with Sarah, she simply went to Alucard instead, who gleefully accepted.

Now, she was beginning to regret that particular decision. She was covered in bruises from head to toe and all manner of cuts, not to mention the occassional black eye. Alucard would stop when he had finally decided she'd had enough (meaning that she couldn't even stand and he'd had to actually carry her back to her room). Though, she had to admit that the rough treatment was working exceptionally well. She also didn't go easy on the Wild Geese, not that they wanted her to. They eventually grew used to her and gave her a bit of grudging respect for her rather impressive knife-work.

However, as the month of March wound itself down she was finally called to make her full report to Sir Integra. The day had arrived and there she stood in front of her boss holding her notes and feeling appropriately nervous. Once she'd started, she found it easier and easier to explain things and her anxiety went away to be replaced by her natural determination and zeal to succeed. Afterwards, Sir Integra seemed to look at her a bit differently, once could say that she was maybe even a tad impressed with her inexperienced recruite. The quantity of information was substantial and well-researched as well as being discriminating and skeptical. Sarah had managed to take myth, de-flesh it, find the bare bones of the truth, and still have time to train herself and her men in how to get rid of these creatures. _Oy vey_, as the saying goes! "Sarah, it seems to me that you are ready to head out. I have more than one reason for asking you to leave a bit early, though."

Sarah gave her a questioning look. "Pardon?"

"Sarah, I trust you've heard the others speak of Section XIII of the Vatican, correct." Sarah nodded. "Well, it seems that the Iscariots have recovered relatively quickly from their leader's betrayal and have gone on with their regular activities. This would not normally bother me, but Ireland has been a point of controversey between us before. They see it as Catholic territory and will act accordingly once they realize that our officers are there. You may feel the urge to protect your mission, but do _not engage_. I have lost too many soldiers already to them and our forces are weakened still. You must do whatever it takes to ensure that these creatures are exterminated, even if that includes falling back if the Catholics should show their faces."

"I...understand." Sarah said with some difficulty. This was her mission! How could she let herself be undermined by a handful of fanatics? Yet, she knew that what Sir Integra was ordering her to do was right. So she reluctantly accepted it. "When should I expect us to be deployed?"

"Tonight," Sir Integra replied grimly. "In order to hopefully avoid a conflict with the Iscariots you must leave as soon as possible. Be ready by midnight. You are dismissed."

Sarah walked out of her office feeling torn. Hoping for a relief from the stress, she went to Elazar's room. He was sitting on his bed playing some sort of video game that Sir Integra had bought for him in hopes of keeping him busy. "Elazar, I'm leaving tonight."

"But you said you weren't supposed to leave until next week!" He complained. "I have a field trip this week and I want you to be a supervisor. I even brought home a sheet that my teacher gave me." He pointed at his backpack.

"I'm afraid that Seras will have to go with you. Sir Integra ordered me to go and you know how bossy she is." She joked, knowing he would laugh and agree.

"Can I go with you?" He asked after a few minutes of contemplative silence. "I want to go. I don't want you to get hurt, Sarah."

"You know you can't. Besides, you're going to have to get a little bit bigger before you're a threat, pup." He gave a dissapointed groan and rolled his eyes, but she just laughed. "See ya."

"Bye, Sarah."

She left his room to go find Seras. She almost tripped on the stairs because she was now in such a hurry. Seras, fortunately, was in the living room watching late night television. "Seras! Go and wake up the Geese! Tell them we're leaving tonight!" She called out before dashing back to her room to wriggle into her uniform. Then she headed over to the barracks herself where she would find her throwing knives stored safely in their velvet-lined case.

Heavy footsteps from the upper dorm level told her that the Geese were getting ready. Sure enough, they came thundering down the stairs a few minutes later to get suited up and arm themselves. They were hollering and whooping and being general pests until she called them to order. "Attention!" They all ceased what they were doing. "We have three hours to load up what we need and head out. I want you all to know that this is the moment we've been working towards and I expect nothing less than the best from myself and the rest of you. Am I understood?" She yelled, her own excitement mounting with the energy of the room.

"Sir, yes, sir!" They responded in unison.

"Good, get to work!"

Pip Bernadotte and two others brought the helicopters in. The wind from the blades whipped around them like a mini-cyclone as they filled them up with knives and bombs filled with garlic and sage powder. Each man was given a canister of salt, a smudging stick, and a lighter along with as many silver-plated daggers, dirks, stillettos, etc. that he could carry. With time ticking away, she ordered her troops to line up. "Armed?"

"Armed!"

"Ready?"

"Ready!"

"Load up!" Several men jumped into the copters while the rest squeezed into two Hellsing trucks. Sarah got on the copter with her second in command. Seras, Sarah, and Pip lead the procession. Alucard and Sir Integra watched from the ground below. Alucard was holding a fussy Walter in his arms. "For the sake of all that is holy, shut him up!" Sir Integra snapped at Alucard. "I can hear him over the Goddamn helicopters!"

Two hours later, the group reached Ireland. They landed on a desolate hill a mile from the true anticipated location. With the trucks and the helicopters sufficiently stored out of harm's way, Sarah and the Geese trekked down the dirt road at a stealthy speed. Seras was at the back to keep an eye out there. The woods on either side of the road grew denser and higher. The road itself was a mess of weedy and poorly kept muddy areas. Sarah wasn't exactly sure what they were looking for until LeCroisse, one of the Geese, caught her attention. A tiny path through the brush led off to the right. They purshed their way quietly past the undergrowth. Hours, it seemed, passed by, but when Sarah checked her watch it read only four a.m.

They did indeed reach the clearing. It was what appeared to be a patch about two hundred freet in diameter when everything had been cleared out. Sarah knelt down to inspect it after noticing something was off about it. A sprinkle of white dust made number of weird smudged lines. "This is the place..." She said quietly.

"So why aren't they here?" LaCroisse asked, befuddlement marring his brow.

"I don't-" She was cut off by a sudden and overwhelming sense of dread. Her blood felt like ice in her veins. She leapt up, nearly knocking LaCroise over. "Get out of here! It's a trap!" As if on cue, several small figures emerged from all around them. Some dropped from the canopy above, unscathed by a fall of dozens of feet. One dropped down right in front of Sarah, paralyzing her with fear. The Lamia grinned sadistically at her and lunged forward. She reacted in the nick of time. Her knife came out and she slashed at his neck as she ducked to the side. It exploded like a gunshot, searing her with flaming particles of dust.

The battle had begun. Lamia by the dozens swarmed in like a hive of killer bees. They outnumbered Sarah and the others 2 to 1, but mild explosions all around showed that the men were holding their own. It wasn't long until the human members of the Black Crows entered the fray. Many of them bore gruesomely shaped knives themselves. However, once Pip loaded his gun the spray of bullets pushed the human cultists back.

Yet, the things kept coming there seemed to be no end to them. It was getting harder to breathe, too. The deaths of the monsters had caught some of the undergrowth on fire and it was spreading fast. Sarah took out a Lamia that had cornered LaCroissa. Sera was taking out three to four at a time. Almost all of the cultists had died or fled. And still the Lamia hoard was relentless. "There's no use! We need to draw back!" Pip screamed over the noise of the fight.

Sarah narrowly dodged having her eyes clawed out. She thrust her knife upward and cut the Lamia ear to ear. The resulting explosion threw her back a couple of feet. She landed hard on her arm and gasped with pain when she felt the bone break. LaCroisse leaped over a fallen log to reach her. He hauled her to her feet. She caughed a little. "Tell him I have a plan." She whispered hoarsely. No one seemed to notice as they limped slightly out of harm's way. "These things are going to overcome us. There's too many to take on at once, but they're all in the clearing now. We need to make a salt circle around the clearing. They'll be trapped and then we can fall back."

LaCroisse nodded. "How will that help at all? We'd still have to get rid of them somehow-"

"A mass exorcism." She coughed harder and he saw a trickle of blood on her lips, which she was quick to wipe away. "You know as well as I do that we don't possess that sort of training." Her eyes were getting a bit dull. With the last of her energy, Sarah made one last order. "Alert the Iscariots." Half dragging and half carrying his commander, LaCroisse relayed her orders. Seras and Pip gathered canisters of salt from their supplies that remained and made the circle. The Lamia, distracted by the rest of the mercenaries, did not notice until Pip called for the Geese to retreat. Angered by this trickery, they threw themselves repeatedly against the newly made barrier.

"That won't hold for long." Seras noted. "How are we going to contact the Iscariots?"

"Through Sir Integra, if she can be persuaded to do so." Pip said. "If not, we'll just have to think of something else."

Sir Integra was indeed an unhappy camper. She slammed the phone down on the desk and ran over her options. In the end, she could only do as they suggested. "Hello, may I ask who is calling?"

"You know very well who I am." She snapped at Father Renaldo. "Now, if your precious Ireland truly means all that much to you, then you would do well to listen."

Back on the battlefield, it had only been 45 minutes since Sarah had passed out from her wounds and Seras watched the salt barrier become weaker and weaker despite repeated applications. Sarah shifted in her lap and groaned. She really was a mess; covered in burns, cuts, and blood. A noise apart from the din of the Lamia came in the form of a familiar voice reciting verses. His bayonets glittered with the early morning light and refracted off his spectacles. He approached them slowly. There was a sharp intake of breath when he saw what lay in his apparent enemy's arms. "Are there no lows, vampire?" He spat venomously.

"What?" Seras stared back at him, uncomprehending.

"You will take your filthy, tainted hands off your hostage before I cut them off." He growled.

"Hostage?" She looked down at Sarah. "What are you going on about? You're here to do an exorcism. Save your threats until later or everyone is doomed!"

"I will do nothing until she is away from you." He snarled back at her, pointing the end of his bayonet frighteningly close to her.

Pip's eyes darted from Sarah to the Paladin. He whipped out his knife and hovered it over Sarah's throat. " "Do it or she dies." He said simply. Anderson's face went pale. "Five...four.." He inched the blade closer to her neck.

"Alright!" The priest shouted, his voice rough. He brought out his Bible, the one Sarah gave him in fact, and faced the circle of Lamia. "I will kill you slowly, Hellsing scum."

"Oui, oui, death and damnation upon all our heathen heads." Pip snarked back. "Now do the damn jobe you were called here to do, you sacramental wine chugging fanatical Roman Catholic ass." Anderson forced himself to turn away while Pip smirked.

"How did I miss it?" Seras whispered. "A tall, blond priest who goes by Alexander...damnit!"

"Pardon le moi?"

She shook her head with disbelief. "A while back, Sarah met a man in the store. They took to seeing each other."

"You mean even the priest is getting more than moi!"

Sarah gave him a death glare. "Hopeless pervert." She was about continue berating herself when the sound of a bell cut the air. Father Anderson had launched his exorcism. Bible pages swirled around and stuck to the invisible walls of the circle, papering them until nothing inside was visible. He shouted several things over and over in Latin, casting holy water at the circle while he did so. Wails, muffled by the thin barrier rose to a fever pitch. Seras covered her ears with her hands.

The wind howled and the spreading forest fires crackled before being blown out like mere candles by the force. A sharp crack split the air, then another and another until cracks webbed the circle of holy energy. Father Anderson was a fearsome figure at the head of this storm as the tension rose. Finally, the circle collapsed in on itself and scattered Bible pages everywhere. In the circle there remained only a cloud of ashes. The Paladin bent down and retrieved something from the dust, a book. The very book that had been the cause of all their troubles so far. In his hands, the evil thing crumbled and fell to the ground as nothing more than dirt.

Almost immediately, Anderson spun on his heel and charged Pip. The bayonets he'd aimed for Pip's head instead punctured the side of the armored truck, thankfully Seras had pulled him out of the way just in time. Anderson roared his frustration. He looked down at Sarah and dropped to his knees. "Sarah-" He pulled her head into his lap as he searched for a pulse. Faintly, her heart beat beneath his fingers. Out of relief, he drew several shuddering breaths.

"Father, Sarah needs medical attention. We're prepared for that. Put her down and let us take her back to Headquarters." LaCroisse proposed in a soft tone. "I have no idea what you may be feeling at all, but I know that if you truly care for her you will return her to us."

"Give her back to you?" He replied coldly. "The same people who kidnapped her, the same people who were willing to _kill_ her only minutes ago? You Protestants are more barbarous than I'd believed." He easily gathered up her unconcious body and cradled her close. "Inform Sir Integra that the Vatican will be in touch." In a flurry of pages, Dust to Dust Anderson left them.

~H_E_L_L_S_I_N_G~

"I'm not saying I desire to be the one to say I told you so, but I told you so." Alucard smirked at his Master, who was about to fly into a rage. "Now we've got a war on our hands."

"I don't understand." Seras's eyes were filled with apprehension. "How did it come to this?"

"This incident has ignited the tension which has simmered just beneath the surface for so many years. I am not surprised by this declaration of a Holy War. The Catholics are always itching for a fight." Integra replied with a long-suffering sigh. "Still, I would not have assumed that I would be fighting one war right after another."

"Are you ready, my Master?" Alucard asked casually.

"I must meet with the new head of the Iscariots." Sir Integra informed them. "I will not sacrifice so many lives on account of that damned priest's error. Anderson's influence in the church is not something to be taken lightly. He will insist on this bloodbath, of that I am sure."

"What will happen to Sarah?" Seras looked scared, terrified even. "What will I tell Elazar?" She stomped her foot down hard enough to crack the marble floor. "Should I tell him that the last time I saw her, she was at Death's Door? Alexander Anderson knows about him, too, you know. He probably thinks that Elazar's also been kidnapped!"

"If Alexander cares for her as much as we believe, no harm will come to her." Integra answered. "We must hope that she hasn't died yet, for that matter. Perhaps she could give testimony and preserve this unsteady peace. Her explanation could prove that this assumption has no grounds in reality."

"Not quite, the revelation that someone he cared so much for was working for his sworn enemies could cause a backlash." Alucard remarked. "Humans value love, you know this my Master, but it turns very easily into hate. Such are the subtleties of the emotions of humans."

"We have no choice." Sir Integra intoned gravely. "We must put our faith in love and understanding of all things."

Alucard looked perturbed. "How utterly ironic." He said with dry humor.

~H_E_L_L_S_I_N_G~

Sarah awoke to find herself lying in a very soft bed in a strange room that she didn't recognize. She wasn't in Hellsing HQ! What was going on? She tried to reach over to the dresser beside the bed, but when her arm was strapped tightly to her body. She looked down and saw a cast covering it and the bandages that confined it. She realized that her entire head was also wrapped in a similar manner. Her throat was dry and raw when she tried to call out. The door opened and she nearly had a heart attack when she saw who it was.

"Sarah!" He was carrying gauze and such other things, but he dropped them in surprise. "You're awake, thank God!" He hurried to her side and clutched her unwrapped hand. "I was so afraid that I'd lost you to them forever." He gave her a cup of water. "Drink this."

"What happened?"

His eyes went dark and angry. "Those pathetic monsters are going to pay for hurting you." Sarah assumed that he meant the Lamia.

"Aren't they all dead?" She asked in a panicked tone.

"My dear, you overestimate me. No, a great number of them still exist, but I will rectify that soon enough." He replied.

"I don't understand, how did this happen? The last thing I remember is talking to-" She shook her head in confusion.

He placed a comforting hand on her chest. "Love, don't excite yourself. Everything will be taken care of and afterwards I will explain it all to you. The world will soon be purged of their evil." She saw that the muscles in his jaw were stressed when he looked at her. "I am so sorry that I could not prevent this. You have no idea how much it pains me..." His expression was filled with sorrow and regret. "The fact that I couldn't protect you will haunt me until you've fully recovered. Do you forgive me?"

"There's nothing to forgive." She said softly, caressing his face. "You couldn't have known."

"You are incredible, you know that?" He beamed down at her adoringly. "There are several things I must do today. I'm afraid I can't spend much more time than it takes to change your bandages." He said suddenly, gathering up his supplies from the floor. He set to work immediately. When she was properly re-bandaged and had settled down again, he still hesitated to leave. "Are you comfortable? Is there anything that I can ask someone to get for you?"

"I'm as comfortable as one can be." She said with a reassuring smile. "I would like someone to bring me some soup or something light to eat, though." He nodded and turned to leave. "Wait, one last thing." He tilted his head in a questioning manner. "Kiss me?" His demeanor changed and became more proud and determined.

"It would give me more pleasure than you could know, but I cannot think of doing so until I have destroyed those who have done this to you."

At this she became worried as fear crept into her heart, gripping it like an icy hand. "Please, don't get yourself killed."

He smiled wryly with a hint of bitterness. "Save that kiss for me, my love." And so, he left her alone to heal. His words had an enormous impact on her. The Lamia had nearly beaten her and the Hellsing troups. She didn't know where she was and she had no idea how she'd gotten there. How could he expect her to simply lay there without answers to her burning questions.

She became restless, but she got an idea when the door opened and a young priest came in with a serving tray. He set down her bread and soup on the table next to her. "You are a very lucky woman that we got to you in time, you know."

"I'm sorry, but I'm confused. How did you guys get there? Why did you come? Where am I?"

The young man gave her a weird look. "Your kidnappers, the Hellsing Organization, notified us. They must have taken you as leverage when they realized that they could not handle the problem with the Black Crow Society. If you didn't have the favor of our strongest member, then we would have left the Hellsing blasphemers to their fate and cleaned up afterwards."

"Wait, what are you talking about?"

"You mean you didn't know?" His face was one of disbelief. "You're in Rome in the Iscariot Organization's Headquarters. You're here by the courtesy of Father Alexander Anderson. He saved your life."

She was stunned into silence as she put two and two together. How could she have missed the connection? She'd only ever heard of Paladin Anderson. Alexander, the man she'd fallen so hard for, was one of Hellsing's greatest enemies! She remember the conversation she'd had with him and everything he'd said..."You all think I was kidnapped?" She went very pale. "Oh...oh..my God...how could this have happened?" Alexander was going to either destroy her friends or her friends were going to destroy him. She had to stop them, she had to do what she could to clear this up somehow!

She got up and hobbled towards the door. The priest tried to stop her. "Miss, you shouldn't be doing that. It's bad for you right now, you'll make yourself worse!"

He blocked the door from her. "Get out of my way." She glared at him. "On second thought, I need to know where Father Anderson went."

Confused and a bit frightened of the crazed shorter woman, he told her that Anderson had been called to the side of the head of the Iscariots, Father Renaldo, and that they were to meet with the head of the Hellsing Organization. "Take me there, now!" She ordered him. "If you don't, Father Anderson could die!"

"Now, I'm the one who's confused..." He muttered as she pushed him weakly out of the door. He meekly submitted to her demands and assisted her down the stairs which led out of the church.

"Where the hell do we go from here?" She gasped, bent over. She was already tiring and the medication which had been suppressing her pain must have been wearing off because her arm was killing her.

The priest allowed her to lean on him. "This way, come on. You can make it," He encouraged while he helped her keep going. "Okay, can you go faster, we need to cross the street."She glowered up at him and stepped away from him, then she broke into a run. Cars honked and people yelled angrily at them in Italian. "Miss, you're going to hurt yourself!"

"Oh, hush up." She growled. Her entire body was aching by that point. The burns on her legs were chafing under their bandages, but she pushed through the pain. She had to keep going!

The priest led her down the street. He looked over and noticed that she was coughing hard. "Are you alright?" He asked with great concern. Her face was drawn and she was grinding her teeth.

"I'm fine, now tell me which one of these buildings he's in." She said, wiping at her mouth. He saw the streak of red that her mouth left on the white sleeve of her nightgown. She was pushing herself too hard, if she kept this up, she would have to be taken back to her room on a stretcher, he thought, but she gave him a pointed look.

"It's the brown one three doors down from the statue of Saint Micheal." He pointed to it. "That one."

"Well, what are you waiting for, let's go." She limped forward a few steps before stumbling. He ran to her side and kept her from collapsing. "I'm fine." It was more like she was trying to convince herself than him. "Don't...don't look at me like that." She snapped weakly. "Just keep going!" He helped her back onto her feet and they made a bit slower progress from that point, but they did make it to the building. They threw open the doors. A handful of guards were standing in front of an office set to the left side. A door at the far end of the lobby also sported its own set.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing? You can't be in here!" The receptionist motioned to the guards, who marched towards them.

"Oh, hell..." Sarah grumbled before shaking the priest's hands off of her. "You really wanna help me? Help me knock these fuckers out." She shuffled forward and steadied herself. Two guards went to grab her and she ducked down and they weren't quick enough to avoid tripping over her. The priest managed to wrestle one of the door's guards to the ground. He stole the gun from the holster and tossed it to Sarah. She used it to threaten the remaining guard into opening the door.

She stumbled into the room where Sir Integra and Father Renaldo were seated across from each other. Alucard and Alexander stared at her. Seras was about to run to her, but Pip held her back. "Sarah, what are you doing here?" Alexander asked.

She clutched at the edge of the table to keep from falling. "Alexander, I wasn't kidnapped. I joined the Hellsing Organization eight months ago because they needed my help to return Walter C. Dornez back to normal. I didn't know you were part of the Iscariots, but I do know that I love you and I won't let the people I care most about start a ridiculous, senseless slaughter."

"Sarah?" Elazar peeked out from behind Alucard.

Father Renaldo stood, his chair screeching on the stone floor. He approached Sarah. "You Hellsing operatives are all the same, deceptive and disgusting." He yanked her up. "I-"

Alexander pushed him aside. "Get your hands off of her."

Father Renaldo backed off, but his eyes flashed with an intense anger. "You can't seriously believe this preposterous story."

Alexander glanced from Father Renaldo to Sarah and back again. "Yes, actually. I do." Anderson faced Sir Integra. "It seems that I have made a mistake and I apologize for the miscommunication."

"I can have you excommunicated, Anderson." Father Renaldo threatened. "The fate of your eternal soul rests in my hands."

Father Anderson stood his ground, backing Father Renaldo up into a corner. "No, the fate of all souls rests in the hands of the one and only Almighty God. I will not stand by while you accuse my fiance of being a liar and a traitor."

"That's a really roundabout way of proposing..." Sarah remarked with a wry smile.

"Sorry, love." Anderson smiled at her over his shoulder. "I forgot to ask. Would you marry me?"

"I'll be happy to." She laughed a little, but the pain in her chest made her stop.

"We were in the middle of explaining the situation to Father Renaldo when you made your oh-so-dramatic entrance, Sarah." Sir Integra said to her. "He agrees that the decision was rashly made." She smirked at Father Anderson who had his bayonet pointed at Renaldo's heart. "Doesn't he?"

Father Renaldo cleared his throat. "Ah...yes, he does."

Sarah blinked dazedly, taking a moment to comprehend. "Oh...well, that's great...wonderful..." And then she fell face-first onto the floor and passed out.

Alucard chuckled and rolled her over onto her back. "That went well."


	6. Chapter 6

AN/ I'd like to reiterate the fact that I own nothing and make no money off of writing this story.

The Holy See had requested Anderson to return to the Vatican soon after the mess with Hellsing had been worked out. The Pope was apparently displeased with him in some way. Anderson's heart was fluttering out nervousness. The only thing that could ever have put the fear of God in him was, ironically, the disapproval of the Church. He stepped forward into the magnificent hall in the Apostolic Palace where the Pope resided. "Father Anderson," The Pope was resting on an ornate chair at the head of a long table outfitted in his robes of office. "I trust you understand why you are here?"

"Not entirely, Your Holiness." Anderson kneeled before him.

"Well, it has taken me a long time with this admittedly difficult and regretful decision to punish you for your involvement with Father Maxwell. His mislaid plans could be said to have been fosters by your zeal. " Anderson kept his eyes on the floor, thoroughly ashamed of himself. "In order to prevent other such disasters from happening, I must teach you a lesson in humility." Anderson held his breath in earnest while the Pope sighed heavily. "My son, you must understand that a human_ is_ the ultimate tool of God's divine will. We were gifted with minds and souls of our own by His Holy Grace so that we may go forth and do his works." He leaned forward, interlacing his fingers and resting them on the table. "With that being said, I must revoke your priesthood and lower your status to that of a diaconate. May God bless you and go in peace."

Anderson was not a man to cry and had never so much as shed a tear once he'd hit the age of two, but his eyes prickled as he thought of how his foolishness had brought him down. He rose slowly. "Of course, I am elated to serve the Church and the one and only God in any way I may. Thank you, Your Holiness. I will take this lesson to heart and curb the terrible sin of pride within me."

The Vatican had arranged his departure from Vatican City. He caught his plane back to England and as it was taking off, he smiled as a thought occurred to him. "God truly does work in mysterious ways." He leaned back in the seat for a nap and dreamt of the future, which was sure to be very bright indeed.

~H_E_L_L_S_I_N_G~

Some months later, Sarah was in her room at Hellsing HQ and getting ready for her wedding. She admired her dress in the mirror. It was simply made of white satin with a bit of embroidery around the waist. The neckline was square and edged with delicate lace loops. When she came back, Seras and Walter stared. "My dear, you are a vision." Walter remarked kindly.

"Just think, Sarah, you and Anderson are getting married! I could never have imagined that a truce between us and Section XIII could have come about this way."

"It reminds me of the marriages between feuding kingdoms." Walter commented thoughtfully. "A common bloodline would unite the two and cease the fighting."

Sir Integra was waiting for them downstairs. She was dressed in a very nice dark green pantsuit that matched Seras' little green bridesmaid dress. Pip was standing beside her dressed in a tuxedo that fit him nicely. Alucard was the only one who stood out, though he had opted for a white rose tucked into the front of his trenchcoat as a nod to the occasion. "You look beautiful." He bowed deeply. "I am honored to give you away."

"I don't know what I was thinking." She said jokingly. "Alexander nearly had a conniption fit. You would have enjoyed his little temper tantrum."

"Sarah!" Elazar came running from the kitchen. He was smartly dressed in a cute little blue tux of his own. "How do I look?"

Sarah stooped down and grinned. "You're just the most handsome little ring-bearer that any girl could ask for!" He grinned up at her proudly.

"Come on, son." Walter led Elazar outside to the front lawn where the ceremony was to take place. "It's starting." Sir Integra, Seras, and Pip left soon afterwards.

"Good luck, Sarah." Alucard chuckled darkly. "I hope you can keep up with your soon-to-be husband."

She pretended to look offended. "How dare you doubt me?"

Outside, the music started. "That's our cue." He noted, taking her arm.

Alexander waited for them at the alter and Alucard took a perverse pleasure in the admirable puce color that his former nemesis turned when he saw him leading Sarah up the aisle. When the ceremony was almost concluded and the only thing left were the 'I do's, a rather loud explosion interrupted everything. Black smoke was erupting from the front of the mansion.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Anderson shouted at Sir Integra. That was when he noticed the ghouls limping forward out of the smoke. "God Almighty," He facepalmed out of aggravation. "On my bloody wedding day?"

Sarah glared at the ghouls. "You think _you're _pissed? Now I'm gonna have to fight in fucking high heels!" She ran forward towards the unwelcome guests.

"Wait!" The priest, who happened to be the very one who had helped her while she was injured, ran after her. "Can we please get this over with first?"

Alucard chided. "He's right. Marriage first, massacre later." After they hastily finished their vows, the happy wedded couple began to thoroughly beat the shit out of the invading ghouls.

Sarah stabbed one of the grotesque creatures through the eye with the point of her shoe. "You know, I'd take this over a First Dance any day."

THE END...


End file.
